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Having played guitar and cello in several rock bands (as well as performing in a silent movie orchestra, an Arabian Music ensemble and free improvised music), Swedish-born multi-instrumentalist Helena Espvall moved to Philadelphia in the year 2000. Besides performing with Espers, Helena performs with the Amnesiac Music & Dance ensemble and collaborates with many others in the psychedelic folk and free improvisation world.
Helena has performed several times at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, twice at the High Zero Festival of improvised music in Baltimore, at the Improvised and Otherwise Festival in Brooklyn, at the Big Sur experimental festival in California and at Terrastock 2006 in Providence, RI among others.

ALBUMS


Ernesto Rodrigues, Helena Espvall, Tracy Lisk
Illuminations
2024, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
Helena Espvall, Fredrick Lonberg-Holm, Miguel Mira
Flying Cellos
2022, CD, Album, Weird Cry Records, ,
Avant-garde Jazz/Contemporary Jazz
Helena Espvall, Sofia Borges, João Madeira
Five Sneaky Leaf Tales
2022, 5xFile, FLAC, Album, 4DaRecord
Marta Warelis, Carlos "Zíngaro"*, Helena Espvall, Marcelo Dos Reis
Turquoise Dream
2021, CD, Album, JACC Records
Marie Takahashi, Maria do Mar, Ernesto Rodrigues, Helena Espvall, João Valinho
Queen Triot
2020, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources, ,
Free Improvisation
Ernesto Rodrigues, Maria do Mar, Guilherme Rodrigues, Helena Espvall, Miguel Mira, Hernâni Faustino*, Alvaro Rosso, Gianna de Toni, Miguel Almeida, Abdul Moimême, Biagio Verdolini, Andrew Drury
Sul
2018, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh
Scandinavian And Nomadic Suites Of
2017, CD, Comp, RM, Ghost Future Archives,
Die Geister Beschwören / Helena Espvall
Die Geister Beschwören / Helena Espvall
2017, Cass, Ltd, Tandem Tapes
David Maranha & Helena Espvall
Sombras Incendiadas
2015, LP, Album, Three:four Records, ,
Experimental/Drone/Minimal/Ambient/Noise
Jackie-O Motherfucker* / Tom Carter & Helena Espvall
House Of Rain / Electrogesis
2014, LP, Ltd, Pome Pome Tones, Ruralfaune
Helena Espvall, Ernesto Diaz-Infante
A Hallowed Shell Of Ash And Rust
2013, CD, Dig, Eroto Tox Decodings
Alan Sondheim & Helena Espvall & Azure Carter
Cauldron
2011, LP, Ltd, Tequila Sunrise Records, Fire Museum Records
Marcia Bassett & Helena Espvall
Lapidary
2010
Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh
Overloaded Ark
2009
Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh
Helena Espvall & Masaki Batoh
2008
Helena Espvall
Nimis & Arx
2006, CD, Album, Fire Museum Records, Pax Recordings, ,
Abstract/Modern Classical/Experimental
Meg Baird and Helena Espvall and Sharron Kraus
Leaves From Off The Tree
2006, CD Hardcover gatefold, ,
Folk
Luis Lopes Abyss Mirrors
Echoisms
2023, CD, Album, Clean Feed
Isotope Ensemble
Uranium
2022, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources, ,
Free Improvisation
Lantana
Elemental
2022, CD, Album, Ltd, Cipsela, ,
Free Improvisation
Quartet Exquis
Da Multiplicidade Do Vácuo
2021, CD, Album, Citystream
Diceros
Symbolic Boundary
2020, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
String Theory
Krypton
2019, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
Isotope Ensemble
Radium
2019, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
Variable Geometry Orchestra
Mare Tranquillitatis
2019, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
String Theory
Tellurium
2018, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources, ,
Free Improvisation
String Theory
Gravity
2016, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources
Anahita
Matricaria
2009, CD, Album, Important Records (2)
Various
Wooden Weavils: Volume One (A Collection Of Folk Music From Bo'Weavil Recordings)
2009, CDr, Comp, Bo'Weavil Recordings
Espers
III
2009
The Valerie Project
The Valerie Project
2007
Anahita
Arcana En Cantos
2006
Espers
II
2006
Espers
The Weed Tree
2005, CD, ,
Folk Rock/Psychedelic Rock
Sumer
Sumer
1998, CD, Album, sw/EDEN
Puffin
Medium Cool E.P.
1994, CD, EP, A West Side Fabrication
Puffin
Soundtrack
1994
Puffin
Carnivore
1993, CD, Album, A West Side Fabrication

APPEARANCES +


Tó Trips & Fake Latinos
Dissidente
2025, LP, Album, Pool Discos
Bernardo Devlin
The Night Before The Space Age
2025, LP, Album, Stereo B
Vashti Bunyan
Lookaftering
2025
Sol Que Nos Consome
Opróbrio
2024, Cass, Album, S/Edition, SlowDriver Productions
Sei Miguel
The Original Drum
2023, CD, Album, Clean Feed, ,
Avant-garde Jazz
Unknown Shores
The House Of Memory
2023, CD, Album, Fundacja Słuchaj!
Buck Curran
Delights And Dangers Of Ambiguity (Improvisations 2017 - 2022)
2023, 10xFile, WAV, Album, Obsolete Recordings (2)
Various
Ten Years Gone: A Tribute to Jack Rose
2022, 18xFile, FLAC, Obsolete Recordings (2)
Tó Trips
Popular Jaguar
2022, LP, Album, Revolve,
Beautify Junkyards
Verde Pino
2022
Ensemble MIA
Live 2019
2021, 6xFile, FLAC, Zpoluras Archives
Rekon (6) With Friends*
Rekon With Friends
2021, CD, Album, Ltd, Creative Sources, ,
Free Improvisation
Beautify Junkyards With Belbury Poly
Painting Box
2021
Beautify Junkyards
Cosmorama
2021, ,
Psychedelic Rock/Experimental
Bernardo Devlin
Proxima b
2020, 12", Album + File, WAV, NAU (2)
Camerata MIA
Rafqa Pietra
2019, File, FLAC, Zpoluras Archives, ,
Free Improvisation
Ensembleia
Ensembleia
2018, CD, Album, Pássaro Vago
Camerata MIA
April Suite
2018, File, FLAC, Zpoluras Archives
Beautify Junkyards
The Invisible World Of Beautify Junkyards
2018
Monolyth & Cobalt
The Dunen Diaries (eilean 50)
2017, 2xCDr, Album, Ltd, Num, Eilean Rec.
Bert Jansch
The Black Swan
2017, 7", RSD, Single, RM, Earth (13)
Folclore Impressionista / Jejuno
Folclore Impressionista E Convidados Na SMUP
2017, Cass, Ltd, Num, Nariz Entupido
Damon & Naomi
Everything Quieter Than Everything Else
2017, CD, Album, Ghost Future Archives
Various
We Are All One, In The Sun: A Tribute To Robbie Basho
2017, 9xFile, FLAC, Comp, Obsolete Recordings (2), ,
Folk
Lau Nau
Poseidon
2017
Noa Babayof
Blue Bound
2015
Jose Domingo
Almería
2014, CD, Album, enunplisplasmúsica
Steve Gunn & Mike Cooper
Cantos De Lisboa
2014
Maailma
Speculum
2014, Vinyl, ,
Folk/Experimental/Psychedelic Rock
Duet For Theremin And Lap Steel
Collaborations
2013, CDr, Album, Not On Label
Signs Of The Silhouette
Land Garden
2013, LP, Album, SOTS Discos
Steve Gunn
Time Off
2013, ,
Folk Rock/Psychedelic Rock
EJS*
Improvisations For Strings And Electronics
2012, CDr, Album, Ltd, Arachnidiscs
Marissa Nadler
The Sister
2012
Sondra Sun-Odeon
Ætherea
2012,
Various
Rare Trax Nr. 71 - Round Midnight - A Compilation Of Quiet Songs
2011, CD, Comp, Promo, Rolling Stone, ,
Acoustic/Folk
Eugene S. Robinson* + Philippe Petit
The Crying Of Lot 69
2011, CD, Album, Monotype Records, ,
Abstract/Spoken Word/Experimental
Charalambides
Exile
2011
Arborea
Red Planet
2011
Marissa Nadler
Marissa Nadler
2011
Fursaxa
Live At ATP-NY 2010
2010, File, MP3, Album, Mixed, 256, Free Music Archive
Philippe Petit & Friends
A Scent Of Garmambrosia
2010, ,
Abstract/Neo-Classical/Free Jazz/Experimental
Fursaxa
Mycorrhizae Realm
2010, CD, ,
Folk Rock
Arborea
Arborea Live At WFMU On Irene Trudel's Show On 6/2/2008
2009, 5xFile, MP3, 256, WFMU
Fern Knight
Fern Knight Solstice 2009
2009, 5xCDr, Album, Ltd, Num, S/Edition, Not On Label
Various
Live From The Devil's Triangle Volume 12
2009, 2xCD, Album, Comp, Ltd, KFJC, ,
Ambient/Crust/Black Metal/Avantgarde/Garage Rock/Psychedelic Rock/Avant-garde Jazz
Damon & Naomi
1001 Nights
2009
Damon & Naomi
Shibuya O-Nest Tokyo, Japan 2008
2008, DVD-V, Ltd, NTSC, Not On Label (Damon & Naomi Self-released)
Nucultures
The Zebramoon Remixes
2008, CD, 1k Recordings
Greg Weeks
The Hive
2008
Arborea
Arborea
2008
Golden Ball
The Antique Barking Swirls Of Dawn
2007, CD, Honeymoon Music
Curia
Curia
2007, CD, Album, Ltd, Fire Museum Records
Nucultures
Butterflies, Zebras, And Moonbeams
2007, 2xCD, Album, 1k Recordings
George Korein
Another Corpse
2007, CDr, Album, Ltd, Majmua Music, ,
Experimental/Noise/Power Electronics/Ambient
David Maranha
Marches Of The New World
2007
Marissa Nadler
Ivy And The Clovers
2007
Marissa Nadler
Songs III: Bird On The Water
2007
Damon & Naomi
Within These Walls
2007, CD, ,
Indie Rock
Djpe
International Sounds Of The Future
2006, CD, Album, Spinelab
Bert Jansch
The Black Swan
2006, CD, ,
Folk Rock/Acoustic
From Quagmire
Habitats In The Wound
2005, CD, Album, VHF Records
Marissa Nadler
New Recordings - 2005
2005, CDr, P/Mixed, Not On Label
Samara Lubelski
Spectacular Of Passages
2005, Vinyl, ,
Acoustic/Psychedelic Rock/Neofolk
Nick Castro & The Poison Tree
Further From Grace
2005
Nick Castro
Solo And With Friends: Live 2004 And 2005
2005
Gui Mallon
Live At Montreux
2004, CD, Album, Adventure Music, Adventure Music
Krakatoa
We Are The Rowboats
2003, CD, Album, Cuneiform Records
Anxious Trio
New American Marches
2003, CDr, Idyll Hands Recordings
The Vitamin String Quartet
Come On And Kick Me / The String Tribute To Weezer
2003
Oluyemi Thomas
Before The Beginning
2002, CD, Album, Recorded
The String Quartet*
The String Quartet Tribute To John Lennon
2002, CD, Album, Vitamin
Katt Hernandez
The Long Awaited Etcetera…
2001, CD, Album, Recorded
Various
Atalante Volym 1
1997, CD, Promo, Atalante Records
Anders F Rönnblom
Din Barndom Skall Aldrig Dö - 50 år
2021
Various
Mind The Gap #114
2015, CD, Comp, Gonzo Circus, Gonzo Circus
Various
For Tom Carter
2013, 99xFile, MP3, Comp, 320, Deserted Village, ,
Art Rock/Avantgarde/Experimental/Folk/Folk Rock/Psychedelic Rock
Various
For Lee Jackson In Space
2012, 94x File, ,
Folk Rock/Lo-Fi/Black Metal/Country Rock/Noise/Prog Rock/Free Jazz/Avantgarde/Stoner Rock/Art Rock/Shoegaze/Rock & Roll/Free Improvisation/Garage Rock/Space Rock/Drone/Post Rock/Avant-garde Jazz/Alternative Rock/Indie Rock/Acid Rock/Psychedelic Rock/Ethereal/Folk
Various
Sixty Interpretations Of Sixty Seconds By Sixty Solo Improvisers
2010, CD, APPRISe
Joanna Newsom
Have One On Me
2010
Various
We Are All One, In The Sun
2010, CD, ,
Acoustic/Folk
Various
The Garden Of Forking Paths
2008, CD, Album, Important Records (2)