Incense of Music 75: Stand on Life's edge and leap into the unknown

Yiannis Despotakis: drums, sruti box, voice
The Thirteen Months
David Soyza: vibraphone
Lisa Hoppe: double bass, voice, composition, concept
Incense: Rosemary, Lavender
Ancient roots and pure improvisation – Yiannis Despotakis leaps into the unknown. Then, David Soyza and Lisa Hoppe reimagine Erich Kästner's Thirteen Months – time, nature, and urban longing, refracted through sound and fragrance. The "Incense of Music" series combines acoustic experience with olfactory perception. For this concert, two essences will be burned, each opening its own geographical and spiritual space. This event is not recommended to people sensitive to smoke.
Stand on Life's edge and leap into the unknown
A sonic journey throughout the tiny blue dot we call home within the prism of ancient traditions and pure improvisation, having the drum and the voice as hosts, guides and liberators.
The Thirteen Months
Year after year passes, and suddenly it's birthday again. Christmas again, New Year's Eve, summer holidays. Constantly and quietly, nature repeats itself, every twelve months. Or are there thirteen, if we choose to believe the moon? As a "city dweller for city dwellers," Erich Kästner wrote thirteen poems about the months, and in them he wrote not only about his longing for a lost connection to nature, but also about the relentless nature of time. Some things remain, even when everything changes. Where do we stand today, with Kästner's observations of city and nature? In the midst of climate change, in the shadow of other wars, other discourses? Do we find a connection to our own cyclical existence?
Lisa Hoppe is a double bassist, composer and improviser, based in Berlin. Her musical works contain a variety of genres and non-genres: Ranging between free improvisation, jazz in all shapes, modern chamber music and chanson, she is always striving to put the melodic qualities of the double bass into contemporary context. She writes for music theater and works with several projects in ...Mehr anzeigen Germany and Switzerland. Her album Faking An Imperfect Utopia with her band YSOP was nominated for German Jazz Price in 2024.
David Soyza (vibraphone, composition, vocals) was born in 1994 in Hall in Tyrol and grew up in Dornbirn (Austria). He gained his first musical experiences in various choirs and orchestras, including under Oskar Egle and Guntram Simma. During his school years, he had the opportunity to receive a comprehensive musical foundation through lessons and workshops with Florian King, Herbert Walser-Breuß, Wolfgang Lindner, Flip Philipp, Peter Madsen, Charly Bonat, and Didi Konzett, which laid the groundwork for his musical career. After graduating from the Musikgymnasium in Feldkirch, he began his bachelor's degree in October 2014 at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg under Roland Neffe. In addition to his major subject, David also took lessons with Klaus Graf, Steffen Schorn, Silke Straub, and Reinette van Zijtveld-Lustig. Among numerous workshops and private lessons with various instructors, the Erasmus semester with Jeffery Davis in Porto and a three-day workshop with Sullivan Fortner were particularly inspiring and formative for his further artistic development. In the summer of 2019, he completed his artistic-pedagogical studies in Nuremberg. Since October 2019, he has been studying at the Jazz-Institut Berlin under Julius Heise. In autumn 2017, David received the DAAD Prize from the HfM Nuremberg. He was also awarded the Culture Prize of the state of Vorarlberg in the jazz category, together with Veronika Morscher, Fabio Devigili, Andreas Broger, Benjamin Omerzell, Johannes Bär, and Martin Grabher. In December 2019, David received the music education prize of the Patho Foundation for his outstanding academic achievements at the HfM Nuremberg – a prize unique in Germany. David lives in Berlin and works in Germany and Austria as an instrumentalist, composer, and singer in various projects.
Yannis Despotakis. Born (naturally) in Athens/Greece. His origins lay inside the triangle that unites Piraeus, Crete and Istanbul (a.k.a Konstantinoupoli). From a very young age he showed that he had great appeal with hitting and banging all kinds of surfaces, by discovering a pair of chopsticks in his mother's kitchen. He has received clinics and lessons from many remarkable human beings, each one playing a catalytic role in his so far course of discovering his true self. He is always trying and most of the time he manages not to be forced to do things he doesn't want to do. He feels his soul is healthy by finding what he truly wants, because that IS. He believes that one of the things that have radically helped his psycho synthesis is getting involved for the past 12 years with traditional Mongolian singing (a.k.a overtone singing – Khoomei) because it purifies and crystallizes all the inner energy channels (a.k.a chakras). He cooks every day and very well. In 2007 he met with the remarkable Hayden Chisholm (Nzl) and the fall inside the rabbit hole began. Since 2009, Hayden and Yiannis work strongly together. The flame is still rocking and the rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) is an evergreen, highly fragrant shrub in the mint family. Native to the Mediterranean region, it has needle-like, leathery leaves that are dark green on top and whitish-felted underneath. From spring to summer, it produces delicate blue, violet, or white flowers. Rosemary thrives in sunny, dry locations and can grow up to two meters tall. When dried, rosemary releases a resinous, herbaceous scent with a slight camphor note. As an incense, it purifies the air, clears the mind, and promotes concentration and inner strength. In traditional smoke-cleansing practices, it is used for purification, protection, and strengthening memory. It is usually burned as loose leaves or blended with other herbs on a charcoal disc.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, commonly known as true lavender) is an evergreen, highly fragrant subshrub in the mint family. It originates from the dry, sunny regions of the Mediterranean. Its narrow, grey-green leaves are softly hairy, and from June to August it produces characteristic spike-like flower heads in shades of violet, blue, or pink. Lavender grows to about 30 to 60 centimeters tall and is a magnet for bees and butterflies. When burned, dried lavender flowers release a sweet, floral, calming scent with balsamic undertones. As an incense, lavender has a balancing, relaxing, and sleep-promoting effect. Traditionally, it is used for stress, restlessness, and headaches, and is believed to soothe the mind and dispel negative thoughts. The dried flower spikes are burned alone or in blends on a charcoal disc – lavender is also very popular in scented sachets.
Links
https://youtube.com/watc...f3cbdQ&feature=youtu.be
https://www.instagram.com/lisahoppebass/
https://www.facebook.com...E67T10biUXbh1W&__tn__=q
https://www.facebook.com...E67T10biUXbh1W&__tn__=q
https://www.instagram.com/david.soyza/
https://incenseofmusic.com/en/

Lisa's photo: Marjola RukajWeniger anzeigen