BIO

ÄETHER is a French-Polish string quartet made up of four women: Amalia Umeda (violin I), Aleksandra Kryńska (violin II), Maëlle Desbrosses (viola), and Adèle Viret (cello).

The quartet is a fusion of four distinct string voices that together create diverse soundscapes, while each musician maintains her own unique sonic identity. They use classical string quartet techniques and open it with improvisation. They experiment with forms, textures, and other compositional and improvisational means, while maintaining the level of precision so essential to a string quartet.

The ensemble was commissioned by Jazzdor and Intl Jazz Platform to perform during the Jazzdor Berlin (June 2025), Letnia Akademia Jazzu in Łódź (July 2025) and Jazzdor Strasbourg (November 2025) where the musicians had the opportunity to meet, exchange their ideas and develop the process of making music together.

ÄETHER draws on compositions by all of its members, allowing each voice to naturally shape the music from within. The quartet functions as a space of constant exchange, where individual artistic identities remain distinct while continuously influencing one another in real time, making each concert a singular, unrepeatable experience.