Xavier Bonfill is a Catalan composer and performer based in Copenhagen. His artistic output encompasses works for traditional instruments, electronics, video and other multimedia formats such as interactive websites and apps. In his works, a form of dialogue between different media and art forms is created between text, images, acoustic and electronic sound. Duality, opposition and even contradiction are a characteristic of his aesthetics: where the poetic is set against the immediately superficial, the extravagant against the intimate, the crooked against the naive.
Xavier is a graduate soloist from the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where he debuted in May 2022. Also in 2022, he received the “Pelle Prize” (named after composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen) as “a talent who dares to defy contemporary norms.” Xavier is also the founder of haknam, a new ensemble dedicated to exploring new forms of interactivity in electronic music and multimedia performance, and “Don’t Look Back Records”, a record label, concert organizer, and IRL/WWW community for cutting-edge music and sound art. Additionally, he has entered into a long-term collaboration with the Copenhagen-based trio NEKO3, including a concerto grosso “YES FOR NO”, and a piece for prepared and deconstructed piano and LED panels “three_four_maybe”. Xavier has released several albums and EPs, including (the.whole.picture) with haknam, and “Refshaløen Tapes” under his own name.
He has studied composition with Jeppe Just Christensen, Hans Peter Stubbe Teglbjerg, Niels Rosing-Schow, and Bernat Vivancos in both Copenhagen and Barcelona. Xavier’s music has been performed in Denmark, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, and China, at festivals and events such as Impuls, Sound of Stockholm, Klang, Spor, Sónar, Òpera de Butxaca i Nova Creació, Sonic, and Pulsar, with the likes of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Jessica Cottis, NEKO3, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Quatour Diotima, Jean Thorel, Anna Alàs, María Hinojosa, Miquel Vich.
Plans for 2024 include premieres of the first two editions of “(vessels)” a new series of works for homemade digital instruments; a new solo audiovisual performance “hikikomori (solo)” for Warsaw Autumn 2024 in collaboration with percussionist and instrument builder Tomek Szczepaniak, and a new solo album.
Xavier’s birthday is on November 14. His favorite color is blue. He considers David Lynch, Björk, Laurie Anderson and Joan Miró to be his biggest artistic influences.