Insight in 3 Minutes :
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Like a raft built of wooden planks and metal plates, the Xala lies ready. It is steered using minimalistic, dance-like movements, wide and large gestures or by means of figures, rhythms and melodies which are danced into the sounding boards with ones feet or using flamenco shoes. With apparent ease and impressive physical presence, Ania Losinger steers her raft “Xala” through the world of sounds and rhythms.
The flow of music is driven forwards by Mats Eser with his five-octave marimba, drums and Asian gongs. Their common composition streams into wide, open spaces. The result is a dynamic between fast grooves and floating, meditative calm; It spans an arc from “sounds beyond all styles” to highly aesthetic images that allow one to forget both time and space: “Music for an Open Space”!
This production of the duo Ania Losinger and Mats Eser is a concert performance, in which they again completely dedicate themselves to the purely acoustic instruments Xala II and marimba / percussion.
The focus is on interacting with the large echoing space in which they play. As light is thrown back from walls and ceiling, so does the reverberation of sound which is woven into the music as though it were an invisible fellow musician. This precise interaction develops into an inescapable rip-tide. The soundscapes that open befor the Xala and the Marimba lead the listener into a world of repetitive rhythms and artful reduction. The harmony between the two instruments reveals a broad spectrum that ranges from poetically quiet chamber music to magical orchestral power.
“Music for an Open Space” celebrated its acclaimed premiere at the Festival of European Church Music 2017 in Schwäbisch Gmünd (St. John’s Church).
Spaces:
Ania Losinger, dance and music performer, dances and plays on the world’s first floor xylophone – Xala. She developed this unique instrument in 1998/99 together with the instrument maker Hamper von Niederhäusern. The Xala is a magical sounding board made of wood and metal strips. It is created to be played with flamenco shoes and six-foot-high staves. Today, there are already three Xalas, each differing in size and tonality. This invention allows for the perfect fusion of music and dance.
Mats Eser is a musician, composer and producer. He is particularly interested in the wealth of percussive sounds and in the art of staging them musically. As a multi-instrumentalist, he creates new and surprising sound mixtures using marimba, vibraphone, Fender Rhodes, drums, in-house developed glass instruments, exquisite cymbals and Asian gongs. The resulting music has long since crossed all stylistic boundaries and is direct and touching.
Ania Losinger and Mats Eser have been living and working together since 2004. Her compositions, concert performances, music theater productions and film music projects are performed worldwide.
Ania Losinger – Xala II
Mats Eser – Marimba/Percussion
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