Whatever Happens Don’t Be Yourself

This is the party you don’t want to miss, no matter what your musical preferences are. The mix of catchy, almost pop-like melodies with explosive, hard-hitting impro noise is captivating. It’s a thrilling battle of two opposites, which you can’t take your ears off! Formed in 2015 by Nils Are Drønen, the 9-piece orchestra Whatever Happens Don’t Be Yourself has from the start been an improvisational hotbed for both young and upcoming musicians and more seasoned players in the Bergen jazz scene. They are now set to release their 5th album, ‘Tales of No Consequence’.

For this project, Drønen has brought together a band of nine very different musicians: percussionist Snorre Bjerck with a background from world music (Mari Boine, Sainko Namchylac and Jon Balke), four of the hottest young musicians from the Norwegian jazz/impro scene – Isach Skeidsvoll, Aksel Røed, Rasmus Lagerberg and Torkil Hjelle (General Post Office, Paal Nilsen-Love), guitarist Mads Berven (Kniv og Taffel), Barcelona-based trumpeter Audun Waage (Jo Jo Mayer), and the Norwegian Grammy-nominated vocalist Nelly Moar.

A performance by WHDBY is a powerful statement of free music combined with written material. WHDBY has played at the AMR Jazz Festival in Geneva and at the Nattjazz Festival in Bergen, to name but a few.