Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Uniting the powerful, ancient Karelian runo-songs that became Finland’s Kalevala with the sad, lingering duduk laments of Armenia and ghosts of British folk-song melody, SANS makes an atmospherically wide-screen new music surging between glacial stillness and passionate power. The magnificent singing of Finland’s Sanna Kurki-Suonio, the heart-pausing sound of Armenian Tigran Aleksanyan’s duduk, the deep woodiness of Ian Blake’s bass clarinet, the dark, glassy chiming of Andrew Cronshaw’s electric zither and unique marovantele, and the man-high fujara’s breathy, shivering harmonics.

Since formation in 2011 SANS has played very successful shows in Britain, Finland, Norway, Croatia, Belgium and Australia. 'SANS Live', recorded on the 2013 Flanders tour, released in April 2014, reached the World Music Charts Europe top 20. “A subtle, at times gently unsettling album in which ancient laments from around the Baltic are fused with themes from England, Scotland and Armenia. Exquisite.” Robin Denselow, The Guardian "SANS are riveting. They play weightless drifting drones and soundscapes that pick you up and deposit you somewhere else entirely. Categorise as ‘otherworldly’." The Irish Times, on the WOMAD show “Kurki-Suonio's voice is elemental, summoning mythological beings in a way that has you looking over your shoulder long after the song has ceased." Jennifer Gall, Canberra Times The SANS website is www.cloudvalley.com/SANS.htm

Performers: Tigran Aleksanyan: duduk Ian Blake: bass clarinet, soprano sax Andrew Cronshaw: electric zither, fujara, marovantele, kantele, ba-wu, di-zi Sanna Kurki-Suonio: voice

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website

Featured artists

• Music of Ian Blake