HEADING HOME is a new project by the greek Berliner Aspa, the kurdish Berliner Ergün and the indish Berliner Raimund,
or rather by a lyra, a saz and two tablas combining forms, scales and patterns out of the rich traditions of the East Mediterranean and India and turning them into vivid modern compositions of what is commonly called „New Modal Music“, a term introduced by the master Ross Daly.
In this music nothing is as it seems, not only the melodies but also time (rhythm) and space (intervals) are understood in an exciting new dimension. Improvisation is also a very important part of this music, and often serves as an index for the skill and musicality of the musicians.
ASPA ANOGIATI lyra, voice
is a musician, music teacher and composer from Preveza, Greece.
She studied at the Department of Traditional and Popular Music at the University of
Ioannina and at the Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Crete with many renowned
teachers from different traditions. Currently she is running the Greek Music School
Kanarini Berlin and conducts
the Kanarini Orchestra of Greek Traditional Music and Rebetiko.
ERGÜN KAYABAS saz, lavta etc
is a sensitive self taught musician, grown up in Turkey. He has
studied sociology at thw University of Ankara and has been a student and
collaborator of Kanarini Music School for 4 years now. He has studied the turkish
folk playing techniques of the saz and also plays the lavta, the particular Istanbul lute
which used to form a pair with the lyra in the taverns of the ottoman era. Since his
crossing with greek music he has also been playing the modal tanboura of Greece,
adding some of its spicy colour to the band’s compositions.
RAIMUND ENGELHARDT tabla, perc.
is a distinguished musician known for his mastery across
genres including classical North Indian Tabla, jazz, and fado.
He holds a Bachelor and Master of Music from Bathkande College of Hindustani Music,
both with “first class distinction.”
His extensive career includes teaching at the Open Jazz House School in Cologne and
performances in prestigious venues like the Philharmonie in Cologne with Ornette Coleman.
Since moving to Portugal in 2001, Raimund has become a significant figure in the
Iberian music scene. He has collaborated with renowned Portuguese and Spanish
musicians, including the guitar project “Las Guitarras Locas,” jazz greats like Carlos
Martins and the late Bernardo Sassetti, and fado legends such as Antonio Chainho.
He co-founded the quartet “Danae & os novos crioulos” with Cabo Verdean singer Danae Estrella, producing the album Cafuca and touring Africa and Europe.
HANS BILGER – Kontrabass
HANS BILGER is a Berlin-based musician, recording engineer, and bioacoustician.
As a recording engineer and producer, Bilger has worked across a wide range of genres and contexts — from symphony orchestras to indie bands, traditional Romanian song to electroacoustic flute pieces. He has worked on production teams for recordings on ECM Records and his engineering work has been featured on Apple Music’s Best New Songs. His studio, Two Fields Sound, is based in Berlin’s historic Funkhaus. He has also taught courses on recording and artist development at Bard College Berlin and Universität der Künste.
Bilger also has a deep background in the science of sound. He holds a doctorate in
evolutionary bioacoustics from the University of Texas at Austin and has published research on the musicality of birdsong and the evolution of the voice in frogs, bats, and humans in journals such as Frontiers in Psychology and Bioacoustics. Currently, these interests are feeding a new project: We Beasties, a children’s literature and music show exploring the perceptual worlds of different animals.
