Sunday, 31 January, 2016 - 21:30

Mesnaoui + Rastig /J. Bauer/ DJ Illvibe/ Lovens

Amine Mesnaoui
Louis Rastig
Johannes Bauer
Paul Lovens
DJ Illvibe / Vincent von Schlippenbach

Amine Mesnaoui – piano

LovensBauerRastigIllvibe
Paul Lovens – drums, percussion
Johannes Bauer – trombone
Louis Rastig – piano
DJ Illvibe – turntables

Amine Mesnaoui Syncretic, deep and spiritual, the creative universe of Amine "simourgh" Mesnaoui is inspired by his cultural cross roots of the African and the European continents, and by the resistant movement of Free Jazz. He brings together the traditional African rhythms and arabic melodies of Morocco, occidental written tradition and improvisation in his sound performances. The Berlin based composer and pianist Andreas Schmidt describes him as "a master of improvisation from scratch". His african prayers for solo Piano are pieces that are deeply inspired from the African music heritage, exploring it from a pianistic point of view. Improvisation is omnipresent, while elements of contemporary music come to interact.
"As a soloist, Mesnaoui is unafraid to invoke spellbinding emotional states that transcend the austere context of an improvisational avant-garde ethos. By marrying the sparse romanticism of early 20th century European modernity a la Erik Satie to the languid orientalism of a hazy halftone improvisation culled from traditional Moroccan motifs, his compositions and manner address his dual European and North African heritage in a uniquely captivating way. Daringly, he chooses to express these two aspects on the iconic yet sparse instrument that is the piano, instigating an esoteric yet honest dialogue between remote worlds." Otis Chatzistefanou, the Berlin Agenda.

LovensBauerRastigIllvibe Originally conceived as a one-off, carte-blanche encounter between musicians who had never met as a four, the idea to bring this particular intergenerational constellation of improvisers together proved a good one back in 2009. This Quartet reunites the avant-garde German brass of trombone virtuoso Johannes Bauer and the exceptional drummer and percussionist Paul Lovens, with the Berlin-based musicians Vincent von Schlippenbach a.k.a. DJ Illvibe on turntables and Louis Rastig on piano for the first time since six years at ausland. The result is a high-energy fusion of contemporary free-form improvisation and genre-spanning eclecticism that moves effortlessly between hushed sonorities, electronic aesthetics and hyper-dynamic sound clusters, music shot through with an attitude of clear, uncompromising expression. Driven by the stellar Johannes Bauer, the percussive activity of the European free music legend Paul Lovens and turntablist Illvibe coalesce in exhilarating dialogue, with Rastig's grand piano - both raw and lyrical – completing the soundscape.

Kindly supported by Kulturverwaltung des Landes Berlin

Doors: 8.30 pm
Concert start: 9.00 pm

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