Acoustic Roots

This year, the festival’s theme was HOT & WET: the overwhelming four seasons. Hot&Wet is what used to be a spicy term for the porn theatre around the corner: Sex for sale here! Now these terms are poised to dominate weather forecasts for the coming decades: Extremely Hot, Extremely Wet, Extremely Dry!

Acoustic Roots was at the festival to report it all, which we will share in several episodes over the coming months.

Aura Rascón

First up is the composition ‘Maha Sagar’ (The Great Ocean) by bansuri player Aura Rascón. Aura Rascón is rooted in both Western and North Indian classical music. She presents a performance featuring some of her original ensemble compositions based on the Indian Raga, where she offers a personal translation of the modal world of Hindustani classical music into the Western chamber music setting. ‘Maha Sagar’ (Grote Oceaan) metaphorically delves into the power of water. A natural element that can be as subtle as a snowflake, delicate as a raindrop, or as intense and dramatic as the tumultuous waves of an ocean. Musically, the piece is a meticulous exploration of the pentatonic Raga Durga from all its harmonic possibilities, translating the solo perspective of Hindustani classical music into an ensemble piece that excavates various sonic layers, landscapes, moods, and colors.

Aura Rascón (bansuri), Ying Ying Su (piano), Ken Kunita (bass clarinet), Lauriane Ghils (percussion), Iván Nogueira (cello)
Beatrice (Bibi) Milanese (picture: Karen van Gilst)

(Image: Batavierhuis)

Finally, we’ll enjoy a segment of Joia Roer‘s performance. JOIA is a troubadour who advocates for tenderness. She sings dreamy songs full of depth, reminiscent of a Dutch Joni Mitchell. In her Dutch-language performance ‘Roer’, she expresses an insatiable longing for togetherness. For Batafest ’24, Joia and guitarist Max Abel perform a snippet of that show, which is currently touring theater.

Max Abel (picture: Karen van Gilst)

Karen van Gilst Fotografie