Improvised Music Company has announced the 12 acts performing in the 2018 12 Points festival.

12 Points, which features emerging jazz acts from across Europe, takes place in Dublin on 5–8 September. As well as four nights of concerts at the Sugar Club, there will also be a day-time industry conference, ‘Jazz Futures’, and late-night jam sessions.

Featured artists include harpist Julie Campiche and her Quartet (Geneva), the Susanna Risberg Trio (Stockholm), nOx.3 (Paris) featuring Swedish vocalist Linda Olah, the Mia Dyberg Trio (Copenhagen), Steiger (Ghent), Kompost 3 (Vienna), Dowry (Dublin), Elliot Galvin Trio (London), Container Doxa (Ljubljana), Kjetil Mulelid Trio (Trondheim), The Rite of Trio (Porto) and Dominic J Marshall Trio (Amsterdam).

Early bird festival passes for all four nights are €49. Visit www.12points.ie.

The day-by-day line-up is as follows:

Wednesday 5 September
Julie Campiche Quartet (Geneva)
Susanna Risberg Trio (Stockholm)
nOx.3 & Linda Oláh (Paris)


Steering an instrument not associated with jazz into new terrain, Swiss harpist Julie Campiche and her quartet balance structure with improvisation to create their own unique instrumental adventure.

At 26, Swedish guitarist Susanna Risberg is already highly regarded. Her trio moves from rocky, groove-oriented pieces to more straight-ahead contemporary jazz.

Avoiding categorisation, the music of Parisian band nOx.3 featuring Linda Olah combines industrial minimalism, French chanteuse, abstract noise and Noir soundtrack.

Thursday 6 September
Mia Dyberg Trio (Copenhagen)
Steiger (Gent)
Kompost 3 (Vienna)


Danish alto saxophonist Mia Dyberg and her trio are inspired by the swing and poetry of William S. Burroughs, emphasising playfulness, cut-up techniques, pulse-awareness and what she describes as ‘the silver smoke of dreams’.

Piano trio Steiger exemplify the spirit of exploration with each musician working across jazz, pop, electronic and the experimental rock world.

Austrian quartet Kompost3 bring ultra-tight beats together with trash-funk grooves emerging from dense soundscapes, all punctuated by the avant-garde.

Friday 7 September
Dowry (Dublin)
Elliot Galvin Trio (London)
Container Doxa (Ljubljana)


The only soloist at 12 Points, Éna Brennan, aka Dowry, fuses multiple sound worlds, blending experimental folk, ambient improvisation, contemporary classical and Irish traditional music.

Pianist Elliot Galvin from the UK starts with a blank canvas and redraws the format, augmented throughout by various toys, stylophones, cassette loops, electronics and melodicas.

Ljubljana’s Container Doxa are the first audio-visual ensemble to perform at 12 Points. From abstract sounds and visual shapes, Doxa infuse contemporary club music with the protocols of free improvisation to create their own distinctive language.

Saturday 8 September
Ktjetil Mulelid Trio (Trondheim)
The Rite of Trio (Porto)
Dominic J Marshall Trio (Amsterdam)


Recently signed to Rune Grammofon, the Kjetil Mulelid Trio feature some of Norway’s most exciting young jazz musicians: classic acoustic piano trio with beguiling compositions.

From Porto, The Rite of Trio describe their music as ‘jazz jambacore’. Chaotic and complex, a loud, adventurous guitar trio from the Iberian peninsula.

Fusing jazz with hip-hop and electronica, Dutch act Dominic J. Marshall Trio brings hard-hitting melodic jazz underpinned with hip-hop grooves.

Early bird ‘12 Band’ festival passes for all four nights are €49. Day tickets will be released soon. For more, visit www.12points.ie.