- Basketballs
Basketballs, rulers and books have one thing in common: the iconic Japanese performer Ryoji Ikeda has turned them all into percussion instruments in acoustic music that almost sounds electronic. As for Gérard Grisey, he drew inspiration for Le Noir de l'Étoile from another unusual source: the pulsing rhythms of dying stars, better known as pulsars. Be whisked away on an hour-long, rhythmic adventure, alternating between powerful explosions of sound and ethereal vibrations that give you a sense of timelessness.
- Darbuka, tombak, daf or yanggeum
These are not instruments you can learn at a traditional music school, but they have been highly valued in their countries of origin for centuries. Groove& is armed with a fine array of Korean percussion instruments (jaunngu and yanggeum) and the Belgian Spëcht brings together instruments from all over the world (darbuka, doholla, udu and more). Mohammad Reza Mortazavi – the man with the fastest hands – and Bijan Chemirani demonstrate how they have reinvented traditional Iranian percussion. Grab your dictionary and enjoy!
When I play the Tombak I withdraw to meself. When I play the Daf I come out of my shell.
- The human body
Even the human body can be used as a percussion instrument. Julia Wolfe, this season’s portrait artist, has composed a concerto for body percussion, brought to life at Bozar by Colin Currie and the Belgian National Orchestra. The Brussels-based collective Sysmo takes this piece as a starting point to bring percussion to everyone through sign language. Our language also has its own rhythms. At Poetry Meets Percussion, spoken word artists and percussionists give their texts a powerful boost.
- A string quartet
Sō Percussion’s request for a piece for string quartet appealed to the rebel in Julia Wolfe. Instead of four string players, percussionists play the violins, viola and cello respectively in unorthodox ways: they hit the strings, rub the wood, use guitar effects and so on. Bl!ndman takes up the challenge and turns the violin inside out. Even without its lyricism, the instrument has something to say.
- A machine
Imagine a ‘percussion machine’ inspired by the sound of the iconic Roland TR-808 – the quintessential drum machine for hip hop and electronic music. The Ugandan percussion trio Arsenal Mikebe builds its rousing performances around this unique instrument, in an incomparable dance between acoustic and electronic music. But there are human drum machines too: Mark Giuliana, for example. He has been making a name for himself for years as one of the most original jazz drummers. He will present his solo album MARK, in which his typical grooves nestle among intriguing soundscapes, synths and even snatches of spoken word.
