Friday 1 February 2019, 7.30pm
Hailed as a Anatolian Psych-pop sensation, after the sold out show at Oto last summer Grup Simsek are back for a two days residency. With members originating from Turkey, Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, Grup Şimşek (pronounce « Shimshek ») encapsulates the Outernational generation.
Unlike in Western Pop culture, Turkish Pop music rather lives from traditional songs and endless ways of re-imagining them. Grup Şimşek take the righteous and rich Turkish poetry to the future whilst not losing awareness of the past. Grup Şimşek deliver their own interpretation of Turkish jewels (by artists such as Selda Bağcan, Barış Manço, Özdemir Erdoğan), but also draw their originality from their beautiful compositions and abilities in improvising.
After the success of their first EP Nem Kaldi in 2017 Catapulte Records/Bongo Joe Records) they are now promoting the brand new single 'Eminem' also featured in the upcoming new Album due in spring 2019. The line up include Derya Yildirim at the Saz, Antonin Voyant on Guitar; Graham Mushnik on Keys and Synth; Andrea Pirovano on Electric Bass and Greta Eacott on Drums
Nilufar Habibian is a composer of acoustic and electronic music, an award-winning qanun-player and an improviser based in London. Alongside concert music, her interdisciplinary collaborations have included scores for contemporary dance and film.
She has received her diploma in music from Tehran Music Conservatoire and studied Persian classical music in Iran under the supervision of the most prominent Iranian Maestros. She has received her bachelor in music from the Royal Holloway University of London and her master in composition from Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
As a composer, she tries to investigate and express human conditions through sound and explore new sounds that carry and convey multiple meanings, emotions and characters.
Her pieces have performed at different venues such as The Place, Wigmore Hall and Milton Court in the UK and Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (Washington DC) and Roulette Hall (New York) in the US.
As a qanun player, Nilufar performs a variety of musical styles ranging from Persian classical and Middle-Eastern music to avant-garde and experimental contemporary Western music. In her solo performances, she tries to offer new interpretations of the Persian classical repertoire approaching it from a new and modern (technically and aesthetically) viewpoint. She has performed at venues and concert halls such as Vahdat Hall, Rudaki Hall, Milad Hall in Iran and Purcell Room, Cadogan Hall and Cafe OTO in the UK.
Some other collaborations include a storytelling project with City University and Tiny Owl publisher called “The phoenix of Persia”, for which she made incidental music. She also composed an electronic track for “These Are Our Friends Too”, an album that highlights the work the charity FORWARD does towards ending female genital mutilation. In March 2021, her recent electronic piece was released in a compilation Album by Iranian label Noise A Noise.
https://soundcloud.com/nilufar-habibian
The Grey Area started as a radio show exploring the weird and wonderful but quickly spawned live shows with bands from across the globe, Dj party Monsoon season and Vinyl celebration of the east and now also an ambient night “Silencio.” that showcases the best ambient artists working in Bristol.
The show’s DJ/host, and the man behind the promotion, Siegfried Translator joins us for the night along with his record bag. With a collection that spans Jazz, Post Punk, Psychedelia, Afrobeat, Surf and a whole host of styles from across both the far and middle east, expect to be taken some places you might recognise but others you definitely won’t.
http://noodsradio.com/residents/the-grey-area
http://mixcloud.com/siegfriedtranslator/
