1017 is the high-voltage new trio from Colin Stetson, Stian Westerhus, and Erland Dahlen – a band whose name references the staggering energy (1017 TeV) theoretically needed to create a black hole! This is music forged at the brink of collapse, and the band dives headlong into that gravitational threshold – where songs and sounds bend, fractures and collapses into something profoundly transformative and painfully beautiful.
The trio balances raw power with striking emotional depth. Known for his thunderous saxophone and circular breathing mastery, Colin Stetson brings seismic power and sculpted overtones, while Stian Westerhus pushes the electric guitar to its outermost expressive limits – bending tones, building walls of sound, and singing with a voice that’s as fragile as it is commanding. Echoing the emotional immediacy of David Bowie, Thom Yorke, or Scott Walker, Westerhus brings a deep vulnerability to the songs – his vocals often standing bare against the chaos, like a flickering signal from deep space. Completing the trio is Erland Dahlen, whose deep sense of space, momentum, and signature bell textures brings a haunting clarity and percussive drive to the group’s sound world. His extended kit becomes part rhythm machine, part atmospheric portal. 1017 is unlike anything out there. It is not just a band – it is a gravitational force. A visceral live experience where sonic extremes meet emotional honesty and song writing mastery.
“10¹⁷, a group formed by Stetson with Stian Westerhus and Erland Dahlen, delivered what turned out to be the most ground breaking performance of the day. This was unexpected, given that the saxophonist-guitarist-drummer setup seemed to suggest a more “traditional” act – especially in contrast to the sonic explorations of Stetson’s solo set and the heavy drones of his duet with Donadello. But that wasn’t the case at all: the group, which has yet to officially release any material, gifted the audience a standard-setting performance, moving fluidly from Radiohead and Bowie influences to extreme sound experimentation, from psychedelic jazz to the softest ambient atmospheres. Stetson himself summed it up perfectly in a quote featured on the BRDCST website: “It’s not a static landscape that you’re interacting in. You have to innovate constantly. Which is what 10¹⁷ is all about.” – CRACK Magazine
Following a critically acclaimed debut tour in 2024, 1017 returns in 2026 with their debut studio album, launching a year of extensive touring.
