Blending of cultures and genres: The Konektiv project is coming to Brno

27 November 2023, 1:00
Blending of cultures and genres: The Konektiv project is coming to Brno

As part of the Konektiv on Tour project, the Centre for Experimental Theatre in Brno will for the first time present new musical connections, blending the diverse musical genres and cultures from which the individual musicians originate. 

Portuguese sound artist Sara Pinheiro and Czech singer and producer Fæ Bestia share an interest in exploring new means of expression that straddle the border between music and sound. While Sara’s main focus is on field recordings and multi-channel sound installations, she translates her search into unconventionally structured songs that blend elements of folk, RnB, electronic and classical music.

The collaboration between Ian Mikysky, a composer and intermedia artist whose work often deals with transience, contemplation or the relationship between sound and other artistic disciplines, and the band Dunjingarav, whose repertoire consists mainly of traditional songs evoking the endless steppes of their native Mongolia, offers a connection between distinctly different musical worlds.

Deep and complex musical traditions that have evolved in parallel thousands of miles apart over many centuries will intersect in a joint performance by Marek Kubát , a master of the baroque lute and its bass variant, the theorbo, and Chaitanya Bhat, who has developed into a master of the singing technique of the North Indian Khayal genre under the tutelage of renowned gurus.

“With Konektiv Nights we focus on creating a unique space for artists to discover new creative methods and musical traditions, combine them with their own approaches and show how creative collaboration can overcome cultural and genre barriers,” says Pavel Kraus, the initiator of the project. The concert is announced for 1 December 2023 at 7:30 pm at the Centre for Experimental Theatre.

This will be the sixth Konektiv Night in 2023, and previous editions have featured collaborations such as Ema Brabcová from the band Khoiba with experimental percussionist Elia Moretti from Italy, leading Czech harpist Mariana Jouzová with Egyptian producer Qow, and guitar virtuoso Tomáš Niesner with Yakut chomus player Aldana Duoraan. Konektiv is a proud supporter of the Hlavák Initiative, a group that helps people who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons - whether they come directly from countries plagued by war, poverty or for other serious reasons, or arrive at the station after being released from Czech detention facilities, refugee camps or the foreign police.

Dunjingarav and Ian Mikyska/ photo: Libor Galia

Dunjingarav a Ian Mikyska/ photo by Libor Galia

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