Stefano Giust is an improvisational musician, drummer, composer, and jack-of-all-trades at the Setola di Maiale record label. His work as a musician focuses on the broad spectrum of experimental music and develops in different directions, in which improvisation plays a central role. He considers improvisation to be an important aesthetic form in contemporary music and also an open process, compatible with any musical idiom and situation. For about forty years, he has been exploring these aspects in the acoustic, electric, electronic, and performative fields. He collaborates with musicians, composers, directors, choreographers, dancers, acrobats, actors, poets, and visual artists.
As a drummer, his language is in constant evolution and focuses on rhythmic impulse and its deconstruction, embracing at once a delicate yet powerful angularity, asymmetric rhythms, polyrhythm, noise, silence, timbral intensity, flexible time, and the use of extended techniques. His stylistic signature avoids most clichés, yet succeeds in conveying a pulse that derives not from a single, unified rhythm, but from the assembly of various rhythmic “micro-events.” In ensemble settings, he certainly takes into account the interplay with other musicians, while maintaining a clear independence in pursuing his own discourse, thus allowing the music as a whole to develop freely on differentiated planes. In other words, his contribution within an ensemble is expressed through polyphonic counterpoint rather than mere rhythmic accompaniment.
As double bassist Peter Jacquemyn has written, “Stefano has a very personal approach to percussion; he almost doesn’t keep time—it’s all about suggesting rhythm—and he has an extraordinary melodic development in his music, exceptional for percussionists. His playing is abstract and melodic; this creates a very interesting friction, making the music more adventurous and less predictable.”
Equally stimulating is the description by Gianpaolo Salbego—principal percussionist of the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna for forty years, composer, musicologist, professor at the Bologna Conservatory, and director of the contemporary music ensemble Octandre: “The intelligence and refinement of his percussion integrate magnificently within the context; the sobriety and the search for sound are indicative of a percussionist—indeed, the label ‘drummer’ seems difficult to apply. The term I usually use in such cases fits very well: ‘pure percussionist,’ one capable of investigating percussive sound.”
In 1994 in Udine, he enthusiastically participated in the only drumming workshop he has ever attended, led by Han Bennink. In any case, his exploration is not truly eclectic as it might appear from his discography; rather, it adheres to a distinctive aesthetic that unfolds across various forms of so-called avant-garde music, such as free improvisation, free jazz, electronic music, contemporary classical music, experimental rock, electroacoustic music, acousmatic music, and minimal techno.
To date, he has released more than 120 albums with his solo projects and as co-leader, along with a few other records on which he appears as a collaborator.
Born in Unterseen (Interlaken, Switzerland) on March 22, 1968, to Italian parents, he grew up in Pordenone from the age of seven. From 2012 to 2017, he moved to Marzabotto, in the hills of Bologna; he has now returned to live in Pordenone, where he resides. Self-taught, he began recording his music at the age of fourteen with the experimental solo project Opera (1982-1989), whose work was published in those years by Old Europa Cafe. Since the early 1980s, he has been deeply involved in radical self-production, which since then has come to be known as Cassette Culture or Tape Network and has taken various directions. Over the years, his artistic and organizational approach has remained uncompromising and linked to a DIY attitude.
Although he began his musical career as a soloist with Opera, the first band he played drums for was Red Glass Hearts (1986-87). However, it was with his next band, Le Bambine (1987-95), that he honed his skills, playing hundreds of concerts and releasing a total of four albums. From its ashes arose the Orbitale Trio (1995-1998), a small ensemble totally devoted to free improvisation, free jazz, and experimentation. it was with this trio – and in part with the solo album Ripercuotere (1994) – that his drumming began to focus on sound and rhythm as a continuous and variable flow, no longer conceived in terms of meter and measure.
He has given concerts in Italy, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Brazil, and Vietnam.
He has collaborated with Giancarlo Schiaffini, Evan Parker, Lori Freedman, John Butcher, Thomas Lehn, Gianni Gebbia, Thollem McDonas, Gino Robair, Guido Mazzon, Tobias Delius, Tristan Honsinger, Giuseppe Giuliano, Philip Corner, Massimo Pupillo, Herb Robertson, Giovanni Maier, Steve Beresford, Catherine Jauniaux, Walter Prati, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Paul Rogers, Gabriele Mitelli, Hélène Labarrière, Keiko Higuchi, Alessandro Bosetti, Clayton Thomas, Patrizia Oliva, Burkhard Beins, Giorgio Pacorig, Steve Buchanan, Vincenzo Vasi, Luc Ex, Roy Paci, Edoardo Marraffa, Lotte Anker, Peter Jacquemyn, Mick Beck, Kris Wanders, Silvia Bolognesi, Ken Hyder, Gianni Mimmo, Liz Allbee, Massimo De Mattia, Wolfgang Reisinger, Eugenio Sanna, Marco Eneidi, Massimo Falascone, Martin Mayes, Cristiano Calcagnile, Chris Heenan, Edoardo Ricci, Carlo Actis Dato, Stéphane Rives, Luca Miti, Nils Gerold, Luigi Lullo Mosso, Bob Marsh, Francesco Guerri, Alessandra Novaga, Roberto Zorzi, Maresuke Okamoto, Gianni Lenoci, Manuela Galizia, Corrado Rojac, Johnny Lapio, Gabriel Bechini, Federico Scalas, Jonas Kocher, Luciano Caruso, IoIoI, Marcello Magliocchi, Filippo Monico, Kanoko Nishi, Bart Maris, Nicola Guazzaloca, Domenico Caliri, John Hughes, Claudio Lodati, Vittorino Curci, Roberto Ottaviano, Andy Diagram, Roberto Bellatalla, Errico De Fabritiis, Stefano Cogolo, Xabier Iriondo, Jacopo Andreini, Pierpaolo Capovilla, Bruno Romani, Hannes Krebs, Tiziana Lo Conte, Guy Strale, Stefano Bartolini, Martin Wichtel, Valeria Merlini aka JD Zazie, Chris Iemulo, Marino José Malagnino, Marco Tabellini, Kilian Schrader, Ivan Pilat, João Pais Filipe, Luca Cartolari, Alessandro Cartolari, Karen O’Brien, Andrej Bako, Andrea Biondello, André Coelho, Fabio Sfregola, Mario Rechtern, Linda Sharrock, Stefan Krist, Sergio Fedele, Vito Maria Laforgia, Giuseppe Mariani, Jeppa K Hall, Vincenzo Ramaglia, Claudio Comandini, Eric Arn, Michele Brieda, Daniele Pagliero, Renato Ciunfrini, Shawn Clocchiatti-Oakey, Cristiano Luciani, Marco Maurizi, Enrico Malatesta, Sakis Papadimitriou, Igor Alban Chevalier, Michel Le Maigne, Giorgio Simbola, Daniele Giannotta, Emmanuel Louis, Ak2deru, Luca Bernard, Filippo Giuffrè, Flavio Zanuttini, Dario Fariello, Giorgia Sylleou, Frantz Loriot, Andrea Laino, Tuia Cherici, Maurizio Suppo, Gareth Mitchell, Massimo Ceccarelli, Norontako Bagus Kentus, Alessandro Boscolo, Victor L.C. Young, Federico De Pizzol, Marco Crestani, Bratko Bibič, Claudia Cancellotti, Teho Teardo, Fulvia De Colle, Marco Carcasi, Pat Riské, Lorenzo Commisso, Paul Snowdon, Walter Belloni, Matthias Boss, Patrizio Pica aka Ben Presto, Bartolomeo Sailer aka Wang Inc., Luca Vortex, Sergio Cacherano Staropoli, Mike Goyvaerts, Margarida Guia, Nicole Legros, Davide Lorenzon, Alessandro Fiorin Damiani, Alberto Collodel, Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, Lorenzo Gabriele, Francesco Rosati, Jonny Drury, Andrea Gulli, Paolo Pascolo, Manfred Riolsperger, Lucio Corenzi, Gianluca Varone, Deborah Walker, Silvia Tarozzi, John Cuny, Massimo Miola, Rinus Van Alebeek, Mikaele Pellegrino, Mat Pogo, Fred Casadei, Herbert Lacina, Stefano Ferrian, Luca Pissavini, Alexandre Soares, Gustavo Costa, Henrique Fernandes, Beppe Scardino, Hervé Boghossian, Jeff Gburek, Edi Leo, Pino Montecalvo, Silvia Kastel, Ninni Morgia, Alessandro Calbucci, Noel Taylor, Diego Cofone aka Dicofone, Andrea Reali, Paed Conca, Luca Serrapiglio, Carlo Garof, Gian Luigi Diana, Liviano Mos, Roberto Lugli, Angelo Contini, Pat Moonchy, Bassirou Diakhate, Cristina Lodolo, Rudi Fischerlehner, Elisabetta Lanfredini, Francesco Calandrino, Marco Calandrino, Piero la Rocca, Dario De Filippo, Florinda Pecoraro, Gandolfo Pagano, Illi Adato, Camillo Amalfi, Roberto Fega, Paolo Sanna, Elia Casu, Agnes Szelag, Norman Teale aka The Norman Conquest, Paolo Falascone, Mario Arcari, Roberto Del Piano, Alessandra Bossa, Erika Sofia Sollo, Michele Anelli, Rik van Iersel, Raoul van der Weide, Siem Nozza, Edward Capel, Victor Suy Bio, Timo van Luijk, Marco Cristofolini, Julian Plaickner, Karolina Ossowska, Josh Kopeček, Thanh Thuy, Tra My, Pham Thi Hue, Nguyen Xuan Son aka Sonx, Kim Ngoc, Jakob Riis, Terje Thiwång, Henrik Frisk, Stefan Östersjö, Paolo Monti, Federico Gerini, Nicola Cattaneo, Franco Cortellessa, Giorgio Muresu, Alberto Mandarini, Emanuele Parrini, Paki Zennaro, Kole Laca, Francesco Lobina, Alberto N. A. Turra, Guglielmo Pagnozzi, Fabio Zigante aka Miss Xox, Silvia Cignoli, Matteo a Marca, Elisa Ulian, Christina Ruf, Armando Battiston, Dine Doneff aka Kostas Theodorou, Sylvia Bruckner, Andrea Grossi, Luca Calabrese, Alberto Tacchini, Fabio Volpi, Rosarita Crisafi, Fabio Mina, Ferdinando Faraò, Eloisa Manera, Riccardo Luppi, Claudio Lugo, Pozsár Máté, Peter Ajtai, Miklós Szilveszter, Emil Gross, Boris Janje, Jošt Drašler, Tomaž Grom, Markus Krispel, Marta Sacchi, Dimitris Havellas, Niki Dolp, Jakob Gnigler, Simon Frick, Tomasz Leś, Erich Schachtner, Kézdy Luca, Chiao-Hua Chang, Yoko Miura, Riccardo Marogna, Gabriele Cancelli, Kei Yoshida, Alessandra Laganà, Tommaso Marte, Cene Resnik, Angelo Russo, Albert Márkos, Heather Saumer, Ewald Oberleitner, Bea Labikova, Dominik Gawara, MaryClare Brzytwa, Carlo Mascolo, Francesco Partipilo, Alessandro Seravalle, Alberto Novello, Daniele Onori, Henry Marić, Dóra Attila, Andrea Begnini, Luigi Vitale, Cristian Lombardi, François Wong, Andrea Massaria, Andrea Cernecca, Alípio Carvalho Neto, Simone Serafini, Gregor Vidic, Francesco Costa, Mirko Cisilino, Annalisa Ponton, Chiara De Santi, Martin Debřička, Tobia Bondesan, Michele Bondesan, Tin Džaferović, Jan Pudlák, Nefeli Stamatogianopoulou, Nikola Vukovic, Damir Kafka, Karl Wilhelm Krbavac, Radim Hanousek, Martin Opršál, Michal Wróblewski, María ‘Mange’ Valencia, Domenico Saccente, Pilou Barge, Gonçalo Almeida, Daniel Meier, Pavel Hlavatý, Zbigniew Chojnacki, Motoko Honda, Alessandro Fogar, Martin O’Loughlin, Alberto Collino, Paul Eiser.
Together with other musicians, he has formed numerous bands: Camusi, Mahakaruna Quartet (IT/SLO), NoNoNo Percussion Ensemble (IT/USA), Klang!, Politácito, (IT/COL), Neu Musik Projekt, Jars (IT/SLO/HR), Ombak Trio (IT/SLO), Transition (IT/DE), Nervidi (IT/PL), Magimc (IT/USA), Aghe Clope, Haiku, One Lip 5, The Objective Chance (IT/BRA), Crash Trio, The Five Roosters (IT/UK), TAI No-Orchestra, Gamra (IT/CH), Papiers Collés, Memento Mari (IT/BE), Carver, NotG, Ògun, Gebbia/Giust/Iriondo, L’Amorth Duo, Squame, Skinstrings, Suonimmagine, Kongrosian Trio, Ipersensity, Babelis Project (IT/PL), Setoladimaiale Unit (IT/PL/UK), Gbur (IT/PL), Margine, Orbitale Trio, Kalte Haut Brennendes Fleisch, Le Bambine, Red Glass Hearts, Crime’o’Nautix, Opera.
He has recorded and/or performed in concert with: ImprovvisoFantasia di Giuseppe Giuliano, Collectif Inaudible (BE), Blistrap (UK), Pierpaolo Capovilla (Obtorto Collo Tour 2014, Interiezioni 2016), Noma, Spiritual Unity, Rediffusion (UK), Roy Paci’s Furious Alchemy Collective (IT/NL), Trio Solzenicyn, DIN-Collective (UK), Strähne Trio (DE), Lendormin, Bruno Romani Trio, Phil Minton’s Feral Choir (UK/IT), Maisie, Gravida (IT/USA), Vonneumann, Retrograde Collective (PL/USA/FR/IT), Larsen Lombriki, Kongrosian Quartet, Sektor 304 (PT), Vincenzo Ramaglia’s Chimera, Gruppo Oreste, Dokuro (USA), Being Together/Hanoi New Music Festival Ensemble (VN/IT/SE/DK/DE), Bologna Improvisers Orchestra, Collettivo di Resistenza Culturale, Ciano Blu Machine, Star Pillow, Rik van Iersel’s Senga Etna (NL/BE/IT), Ridmo Orchester (AT/DE/SLO/IT/HU/CZ).
Over the years, he has shared stages and posters with a large number of musicians, even those who are very different from each other, including: Anthony Braxton, Alvin Curren, Primus, Thurston Moore, John Russell, Fugazi, Morton Subotnick, Mats Gustafsson, Faust, Roberto Fabbriciani, Thomas Brinkmann, Carlos Giffoni, Terry Day, Negazione, SISU Percussion Ensemble, John Edwards, Raphael Gualazzi, Sajncho Namčylak, Robert Lowe, D.O.A., Zlatko Kaučič, Manuel Mota, Kerosene, Chris Corsano, Big Band RTV Slovenija, Fuzztones, John Wiese, Silverfish, Ab Baars, Marta sui Tubi, Fishbones, Wolf Eyes, Verbal Assoult, Jozef van Wissem, Seers, Marphy’s Low, Michael Edwards, Karlheinz Essl, Zu, Flashtones, Freak Antoni, Giorgio Nottoli, Joe McPhee, GX Jupitter-Larsen e Gavin Bryars.
He has played at international festivals, including: Hanoi New Music Festival (Vietnam), Angelica Festival Internazionale di Musica (Bologna, ’18, ’20), Angelica Stagione Concertistica (Bologna, ’16, ’25), Mostra SESC de Artes (São Paulo, Brasile), Jazz Cerkno (Slovenia), MIBnight Jazz Festival (Bremen, Germania), BRDA Contemporary Music Festival (Smartno, Slovenia), Saturnalia Festival ’17 (Milano), Defonija (Ljubljana), Interpenetration Festival (Graz ’10, ’13), Chilli Jazz Festival (Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, Austria ’14, ’15, ’16, ’22), Jazz Is Dead Festival (Torino), Skronk Liberations (Praga), Festival Trieste Prima / Incontri Internazionali con la Musica Contemporanea (Trieste), ImproCON (Kumrovec, Croazia), Axes Beuk Festival (Eindhoven), TAI Fest #2, #3 (Milano ’15, ’16), Drittes Kleines Festival Der Anderen Art (Berna), Italian Jazz Rebels (Bologna), Festival Sons Libérés (Bruxelles), Possible Setting Amirani Festival (Milano), Retrograde In The Dromosphere Festival (Poznań, Polonia), Tarcento Jazz Festival (Udine), Fonomanie (Bari), Erev Laila (Trieste), Pre Sonar Event (Londra), Corde Pizzicate (Torino), Scatole Sonore (Roma ’07, ’08, ’09), Mopomoso (Londra), Note Non Note / Nuove Partiture e Improvvisazione (Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma), Arezzo Wave, Venetian Industries Festival (Venezia), Shinafest (Idrija, Slovenia), Scrusci Festival (Alcamo, Trapani), Asti Musica 2014, Villa Ada – Roma incontra il Mondo (Roma), Sajeta Festival (Tolmin, Slovenia), oFFFest (Milano), TagoFest (Marina di Massa), Aeson Festival (Udine ’18, ’20).
Contemporary art exhibitions, galleries, theaters, clubs, cultural centers, universities, multidisciplinary festivals, radio stations, and unconventional spaces follow as in the original text.
As a composer of unorthodox, acousmatic, and electronic music, some of his works have been used by experimental filmmakers and in documentaries, plays, art installations, multimedia performances, and video art. He has provided live music for films by Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Man Ray, Stan Brakhage, Ciprì and Maresco, Mario Bava, Alan Crosland, Enea Garrapa, and Derek Jarman, and has collaborated with numerous visual artists, performers, and poets.
In the field of stage music, he has collaborated with the Compagnia blucinQue in Turin on theatrical works inspired by John Cage and William Shakespeare, as well as dance productions, physical theater, and multidisciplinary performances in Italy and abroad.
In 2018, he collaborated with Transmedia Arti Visive on Acqua per Essere, a multimedia performance combining dance, video, voice, electronics, and percussion, with original music composed and performed by Stefano Giust and Patrizia Oliva.
Since 2016, he has been one of the curators of the prestigious Angelica – International Music Festival in Bologna. Also as a curator, he has directed concert series and, since 2022, he has been organizing, together with Patrizia Oliva, the Concerti di Musica di Ricerca (Research Music Concerts) in Pordenone.
He founded and still runs Setola di Maiale, a record label dedicated to creative and experimental music since 1993, with over 500 titles released and around 1,000 musicians involved. He has also organized festivals for the label and celebrated important anniversaries in international contexts.
His networking practices and musical aesthetics have been analyzed in university theses, particularly in Ivan Dal Cin’s thesis with honors, “L’Arte Partecipante” (Participatory Art), University of Udine.
A number of radio stations have broadcast his work, including Rai Radio Tre (Battiti and Radio3 Suite), Rai Tre TV, Radio Bremen (Germany), Radio Televizija Slovenija, Taran’s Free Jazz Hour (Europe), Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7FM (New York), Radio Popolare (Milan), Radio-UAT (Mexico), Triple R Radio (Australia), 2SER/Curved Radio (Australia), KFJC (San Francisco), NOFM Radio (Mexico), Sprawl Zone Radio (Greece), and Radio-Z 95.8FM (Germany). He has been interviewed on Radio Resonance 104.4FM (London ’05, ’09), Radio Onde Furlane (Udine), Radio Base 81 (Treviso), Radio Kairos (Bologna), Novaradio Città Futura (Florence), Radio Onda d’Urto (Brescia), 2SER/Curved Radio (Australia), Radio Roccella (Reggio Calabria), Radio Città Fujiko (Bologna), and WKCR 89.9FM (New York City).