raphaeldecock.be

Voxtra

The album ’The Encounter of Vocal Heritage’ was released in September 2016

This ambitious project brings together the most incredible vocal traditions. This amalgamation – not exactly a fusion, since each tradition is still perfectly recognisable – showcases Albanian iso-polyphony with its plangent quality, the cantu a tenore of the Sardinian countryside, Beko blues singing of southern Madagascar, Finnish yoik and rune singing and the Belgian récit chanté.

Voxtra is about the exploration of common ground between different traditions: a particular rhyme, similar harmonies, a melody that reminisces another one… The Sardinian tenore don’t yoddle like a Malgash, but rather they create a vocal tapestry that supports Talike’s singing. Anu doesn’t sing in Albanian with the Gjini-ensemble but the songs of her youth in Finland resound as an echo of the Albanian polyphony. Voxtra allows the traditions to engage in a dialogue with each other, the similarities come to the surface, but the emphasis lies on the uniqueness of each tradition.

Line-up:

Anu Junnonen: Finland
Talike Gellé: Madagascar

Tenore de Monte Arvu: Sardinia – Domenico Nanu, Ivo Deledda, Tore Deledda, Manuela Deledda & Giovanni Carta
The Gjini Family: Albania – Gramoz, Brihans & Ylber Gjini

Raphael De Cock: Belgium

Website: Voxtra