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Mauro Pawlowski presents : a SUBLIME FREQUENCIES labelnight feat. SHAHKILID (Bel/Iran) + NATHAN SALSBURG + The screening of a Sublime Frequencies DVD + A DJ-set by Mauro Pawlowski
In autumn 2009 the AB will be organising a tribute to the American ethno-musicologist Alan Lomax (1915-2002). It is thanks to his pioneering work that anyone can now acquaint themselves with the earliest folksong recordings. Together with his father, he was responsible for the discovery of blues legend Leadbelly and folk icon Woody Guthrie. Lomax was later the most important staff member of the Archive of Folk Song or to the Library of Congress in Washington.
As part of this tribute, the AB will be organising an evening with American label Sublime Frequencies (sublimefrequencies.com) that, just as labels like Damon Albarn’s Honest Jon’s, carries on the work of Alan Lomax. Sublime Frequencies mainly works with 4 different categories: field-recording, folk & pop compilations, collages of radio programmes from remote areas and DVD’s. Each time in limited issues. The sources are mainly to be found in South-East Asia, North-Africa and the Middle-East. Jack-of-all-trades, but currently mostly dEUS guitarist, Mauro Pawlowski has already been a fan for years and now has the opportunity to curate this evening. He chose for 2 live concerts, the screening of a DVD from the Sublime Frequencies catalogue and a DJ-set in which he presents his personal collection of Sublime Frequencies albums.
After the unfortunate cancelation of Sir Richard Bishop, we hastily attempted to seek a replacement ... and found it in the form of Nathan Salsburg. Nathan currently works as producer to the Alan Lomax archive and forms part of our tribute in Brussels. As luck would have it, he is also a 'new' Alan Lomax. As, aside from his radio show ‘Root Hog Or Die’ on East Village Radio, he is also the man behind the Twos & Fews label, a sub-label of Drag City (see: Joanna Newsom, Alasdair Roberts). On the label, at the end of October, the very first documentary dedicated to Gnawa will be released, a hypnotising style of music that is still made in abundance in Marrakech (by the likes of Brahim Belkani, Hassan Zougari and Mohamed Hamada) and that is linked to other hypnotising styles like voodoo and santeria. This 30 minute documentary will be presented to you in an absolute world premier, after which Nathan Salsburg will spin records aside Mauro Pawlowski. In his words, that will be ‘old time, hard time, and good time music’, in other words a healthy reason to present blues, gospel, country and other traditional music. If the Rochefort trappist beer hasn't knocked him out by then, he has also promised to present a number of folk songs on guitar - as you can sometime see him do in his hometown of Kentucky, at the side of his good friend Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy.
Shahkilid is Persian for 'the key that opens all doors'. A classical Persian melody forms the point of departure for improvised music that can head in many directions, including a meeting with Western classical music or with more traditional Iranian melodies,… Shahkilid unites experienced musicians with a great degree of openness. It symbolises the search of a new generation of Iranian master-musicians with new musical paths. Accessibility and creativity form the keywords here. Shahkilid consists of Dadmehr, Davood Varzideh, Sahram Mirjalali and Sébastien Walnier.
Shahkilid is supported by Muziekpublique.
Davood Varzideh : ney
Davood Varzideh studied physics at the University of Teheran. He became a student of Hassan Nahid (a ney master) 18 years ago and he continued through all levels of training. Four years later he was already playing with the band of santur-grandmaster Faramarz Payvaar. The year after that he became one of Payvaar's permanent members. He works together with the Iranian radio and television as a studio-musician. He has performed in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Central-Asia, Europe. His style is influenced by the masters Hassan Kassaï, Hassan Nahid and also, in part, by Mohamad Ali Kiyaninejad. He commands the old style, to which he applies contemporary nuances and effects. He is also extremely familiar with the ney-style of Turkish and Arabian music.
Shahram Mirjalali: tar, barbat (oud), setar. Mirjalali is currently considered to be the point-of-reference in the Esfahan-school as it was developed by master Jalil Shahnaz. At the age of seven, he began to learn the tar with his sister, who already played tar and violin. From the age of 10 he began to teach himself barbat and oud by watching films of Arabian musicians. When he was 12 he was invited to the Art and Culture Orchestra of Khoozestan to play oud. He was taught by master Shahnaz and master Kassaei. On tar he has been influenced by the Esfahan style of music. He is generally considered to be one of the best setar- and tar-players around and he usually plays on self-made instruments. He's a member of various ensembles such as Sama'a, Bidel, Arghanoon and Shahin Sepehr, with which he plays extensively within and outside of Iran.
Dadmehr: tombak, daf
Dadmehr began his musical career 20 years ago as a student of great modern tombak-master Amir Naser Eftetah. He subsequently trained at Iran's most important musical centre Hefz va Eshaeh under the masters Mahmood Farahmand Bafi and Bahman Rahjabi. He also studied violin with Alireza Tavousi and at the conservatorium of Teheran with Shamloo Karband. He is generally praised for his virtuosity and his search for the richenss of the tombak's sound. So it was that he received first prize in the solo-competition at the festival of Fahjr in 1991. Before he moved to Europe, Dadmehr worked as musician for the Iranian television and he often performed with Shahram Mirjalal (barbat, tar). In Europe he often plays together with Hamid Motebassem (Dastan Ensemble).
Sébastien Walnier: cello
Chamber music on cello was Sébastien Walnier's thing from an early age. This passion gave him the opportunity to perform on international stages with the likes of Roland Pidoux, Eliane Reyes, Thanos Adamopoulos, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Daniel Blumenthal, Jean-Claude Vanden Eyden, Véronique Bogaerts, Luc Dewez, Boris Belkin ... He studied at the Conservatoire Royal in Luik, under Maryse Douin for cello and Cécile Evrard for chamber music. He later completed his studies with Edmond Carlier, disciple of André Navarra. The contact with Roland Pidoux at the Parisian Conservatoire National Supérieur was an important step in his career. After tuition from Daria Hovora and Michaël Hentz he formed the Talweg Trio together with Sébastien Surel (violin) and Alexander Gurning (piano). He is often to be heard in duo with pianist Eliane Reyes.
