GIG: Ananke plays the Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, Saturday 10 December 2011, 7.30pm, $35 ($25)
Ananke performs at La Mama Theatre in 2006 (Picture supplied)
Nick Tsiavos — Contrabass
Anthony Schulz — Piano accordion
Achilles Yiangoulli — six-string bouzouki
Tonight the three members of Ananke will mark the release of their eponymous sixth album with a performance at the MRC Salon. They have likened their playing to surfing, with each player waiting for the right wave and then negotiating pathways amid the turbulence while maintaining contact with each other.
Visit Ananke’s website for more information about this trio.
Here are some excerpts, in their own words, about the band:
“Ananke make music at the crossroads of many cultures, creating a new musical language that expresses the restless energy of the Mediterranean. From lands touched by tragedy and displacement comes the bittersweet sound of Ananke.
“Aria-award-winning musicians Achilles Yiangoulli and Anthony Schulz, with critically acclaimed bassist Nick Tsiavos continue on their explorations culminating in the release of their sixth CD, ‘Ananke’.
“The trio has always been an execution of a ‘leap of faith’ when creating this sound world. We discard the expected functional roles of our instruments and familiar musical structures, and instead, look for resonance and narratives within the moment.
“In a manner very similar to ‘surfing’, we three paddle out to sea then wait, bobbing up and down in the swell ‘til a suitable wave arrives — then, it gets complex. As the surge propels you along, you try to negotiate pathways for yourself while at the same time maintaining a dialogue of sorts with the other two. You continually search for moments of self expression, yet are always looking for ways to interact with and respond to the other members, and this is all happening while the ‘wave’ is surging under you, constantly changing direction and intensity.
“I suppose, when things are working, we get into a state some people call ‘flow’. There is no real conscious awareness in performance, but the sub conscious is working over time.
“And, at the end of the day, we three are all romantics and much of our aesthetic lies in the land of bittersweet.”
This concert will be something special.
ROGER MITCHELL
Ausjazz Blog 