An epic from UK's leading music/film group, their appearance at the Belluard Festival represents a rare live performance and the first of their major new work, "Kaddish". The line-up will include Towering lnferno founders Richard Wolfson (keyboards/guitar), Andy Saunders (keyboards/sax), Greg Skerman (sound) and Roger Riley (film/projection), with Glyn Perrin (piano), Alexander Kolkowski (violin) and Steve Kellner (drums). They will also perform with their extraordinary Hungarian collaborators, Marta Sebestyén (voice) and Endre Szkarosi (texts/voice).
Revolving around the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, the music deploys a ferocious, passionate minimalism. It is a work of stature that is hard to define, Post-Eno/Techno/systems/classical/folk and metal techniques hurtle the listener on a spiritual journey into the darkness at the heart of Europe in our Century. It takes as its premise the almost total destruction of Jewish and Folkloric cultures in Europe, whether by Nazism, the Pogroms to the East and even by the crushing weight of present day spiritual emptiness.
Our journey begins with the searing beauty of Marta's opening traditional Hungarian folk song, travelling on through bleak holocaustic landscapes to a massive hypnotic Wagnerian climax in which everything comes to rest on a single repeating phrase. Is this symbolic of the end or of hope and affirmation ? The dust finally settles as a Rabbi chants the Kaddish, a final proyer of mourning and reconciliation.
With support from The British Council and the Bank of the State of Fribourg
Richard Wolfson (claviers/guitare) - Andy Saunders claviers/saxophone) - Gregg Skerman (ingénieur du son) - Steve Kellner (percussion/batterie) - Glyn Perrin (piano) - Alexander Kolkowski (violon) - Roger Riley (film/projections) et avec la participation de: Mérta Sebestyén (voix) - Endre Szkarosi (texte/voix)