Origins

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The trio emerged in January 2026 from an invitation to perform at an environmental action in Oslo.

Jan invited Tellef, a close musical collaborator for more than four decades. Tellef in turn brought in drummer Thomas Oxem.

From the first notes, a distinct musical chemistry became apparent. Thomas entered the existing dialogue between Jan and Tellef not as an addition, but as a catalyst. New possibilities emerged. Established patterns dissolved. The music opened itself to new directions.

What began as a single occasion quickly revealed itself as something more: a  practice of shared perseption, radical interaction and spontaneous composition.

Growth

Three weeks later, WØX performed a short concert for an audience of music students and improvising musicians. For this performance, Jan expanded the group's sonic palette by combining oboe with a Yamaha WX7 wind controller and live processing in Ableton Live.

Amid the performance, a revealing detail emerged. The ensemble's increasingly intricate interaction had reached a point where listening itself became a central creative challenge. Thomas's intensely responsive approach depended on hearing ever finer details within the evolving soundscape created by the other musicians.

As plans were made for a longer recording session, it became clear that the next stage of the group's development was not primarily about new material or new technology. It was about refining the conditions for deeper listening.

What might seem like a technical consideration was in fact something more fundamental. The richer the musical dialogue became, the more the musicians depended on their ability to perceive and respond to the smallest shifts in sound, texture and intent.

In WØX, listening is not a prerequisite for the music. Listening is the music.

Future

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In the months ahead, WØX will continue to develop its practice through a series of open rehearsals, performances and recording sessions, while gradually finding its place within Oslo's vibrant community of improvising musicians and the wider region beyond.

For WØX, making music is not simply a matter of presenting finished works to an audience. It is an ongoing exploration of creative possibility, collective imagination and artistic identity. Each performance is approached as an opportunity to discover something that did not exist before the musicians and listeners gathered in the same space.

Unlike repertoire-based ensembles, WØX works with spontaneous composition. The music takes shape in real time and depends on a heightened state of attention—not only among the performers, but also within the audience.

Listening becomes a shared activity.

In this sense, the audience is more than a witness. Through its presence, focus and responsiveness, it becomes part of the conditions from which the music emerges. The boundary between performer and listener remains intact, yet the interaction becomes deeper, more immediate and more consequential.

Every performance is therefore unique: a focused community of interaction and emergence.

Thomas Oxem 

A talented drummer with extraordinary listening skills and a passion for free improvisation.

Tellef Øgrim 

An innovative guitarist whose creativity shapes the unique sound of WØX's music.

Jan Wiese

A versatile oboe player, pushing boundaries with the wind controller and baryton sax 

Upcoming events

June 25th 2026 - Open rehearsal/private concert, Oslo 
September 17th 2026 - Open rehearsal/private concert, Oslo

Recent events

March xxth  2026 - concert at Mandagsklubben Becco Wine Bar 
January 31st - SALT , Oslo