Witch ´n´ Monk (COL, D) - Kufstein

Witch 'n' Monk is the partnership between the nonconformist Colombian flutist Mauricio Velasierra and the anarchic soprano and guitarist Heidi Heidelberg. Their unique sound consists of a collection of hybrid Latin American flutes, radically manipulated with effects and extended techniques, anarchic soprano singing that seamlessly and suddenly shifts between characters and timbres, analog electronics, and a jazz-punk hybrid of guitar and bass. Each element is challenged to create the sound of multiple dimensions by using a variety of control pedals and labyrinthine signal paths to orchestrate live. The essence of their collaboration is contained in the name: dark and bright, feminine and masculine, punk and romantic, free and complicatedly composed. Exploring extremes and creating contrasts are fundamental to their work, and thus they move at the edges of the genres. They are celebrated in the jazz, contemporary classical, and DIY underground music scene, having performed throughout the UK and Europe at renowned venues and festivals such as the Berlin Jazz Festival, the London Jazz Festival, the Umea Jazz Festival, the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, the Royal Festival Hall in London, and the Parisian La Cigale. Rarely has avant-garde provided so much joy and fun in listening.

"The duo of Heidi Heidelberg and Mauricio Velasierra combines Latin American flutes, electronics, complex vocal lines with a touch of Frank Zappa lyrics and a radical punk aesthetic into dramatically bizarre vocal music from another dimension! Dark/bright, female/male, composed/improvised and punky/romantic, dreamlike improvisations are sampled, manipulated, and reinvented through the lens of contemporary music and pop. You have never heard anything like Witch 'n' Monk!" - John Zorn Punk or Prog Rock with art music and sampled improvisations or free jazz with backstage opera and the melancholy of folk. - Musikexpress ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (5 stars)

"Hard to imagine that voice, guitar, and flute groove so hard and deliver so much. - The Wire "Fascinating... Brilliant. You will think for a while about how to categorize them – Prog-Folk? Operatic post-punk? Gothic reggae? – but they know how to write melodies." - The Guardian Contemporary Album of the Month