A NOTE

In recent years, I have devoted myself to something I call ”flayed music”. It is a music that stages the body in an intimate way.

It arose from my inability to write. The music in my life felt fake. Every melody, every chord, sounded like a lie during these cold times.

When I encountered Lina Rydén Reynols’ poetry book Jag hjälper dig inte (2025), I found something I was looking for. Her poetry is cold, mechanical, and relentless. The language is corrupted by violence. At the same time, there are glimpses of resistance in love, but even that is conditioned.

In a completely alienated and violent system, there is no pure place for love. The only way we can reach each other is through the shared wound.

Over the past year, I have been working to give the book a scenic form, using music as the starting point.

On the stage in Så blev vi liv, there is no room for simple music-making. All sounds are rooted in submission.

And yet, they are not.

The performance is co-created with Arvid and Johan, who have been part of the process from the beginning. Thank you, again and again.

– Love Carbin

BIOGRAPHIES

LOVE CARBIN is a director, composer, and performance artist. In his work, he explores ”flayed music” – a music that focuses on bodily vulnerability and sounding rituals.

JOHAN ALMSTRÖM is a composer and organist. He is active in the improvisation and contemporary music scenes. In his music, poetry is used as a foundation for the sounding material, and through an experimental practice, he investigates the church organ and its space.

ARVID BARNÖ is an artist, violinist, and poet with a background in Swedish folk music. In his practice, he stretches and shatters the boundaries and symbolic value of tradition through staged poetry in raw and tender performances.

AMANDA WISSELGREN is a costume designer. She works at the intersection of fashion, performing arts, and performative expression. In 2024, she was awarded the Ung Svensk Form award.

LINA RYDÉN REYNOLS is a poet and publisher. With her latest book Jag hjälper dig inte (2025), she has consolidated her position as one of Sweden’s most significant contemporary poets. In 2025, she was awarded Samfundet De Nios Julpris.

VICTOR KETELSLEGERS is a Belgian dancer and actor who performs with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. In addition to his dance career, Victor played the lead role in Girl by Lukas Dhont, which earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard).

DUNCAN C SCHULTZ is a dancer from the USA who has worked with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani since 2017. Following his dance education in Minneapolis, he has been a member of companies such as Arena Dances and Tu Dance in Minnesota, and Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern.