Earth Talk

Jointly initiated by saxophonists and composers Bo van der Werf and Stéphane Payen, Earth Talk aims, at the intersection of sound poetry, concrete music, improvised music, electronic experimentation, and postmodern chamber oratorio, to probe nothing less than the “Voices of the Earth” in a hybrid artistic object that is perfectly unclassifiable.

The ensemble serves as a backdrop for Tamara Walcott’s libretto, which, in several languages, blends song, opera, and spoken word into an ecological discourse of great poetic force. Combining nature recordings, acoustic and electronic textures, hallucinatory grooves, and instrumental improvisations, Earth Talk develops ever-changing soundscapes that invite us to perceive the sounds around us in a different way.

• With Bo Van Der Werf (baritone saxophone, compositions), Tamara Walcott (texts, vocals), Lynn Cassiers (vocals, electronics), Benoît Delbecq (piano, electronics), Sarah Murcia (double bass, vocals), Stéphane Payen (alto saxophone, compositions)