On May 19 I will play a solo set at the festival of Altinvillage & Mine. Altinvillage & Mine just put out “The Kenya Sessions” on 2 X 12″ Vinyl.

On May 18 I will present my new live Set in Bologna.

Early in April I will support Hauschka who is recording a new album with Kenyan musicians like Ogoya Nengo, Ogada Oganga, Just a Band and Raymond Mackenzie in Nairobi.

Again the project is supported by the Goethe-Institut Nairobi.

During the recording process I will continue the great blog by Agnieszka Krzeminska barabara.fm

On March 15 the Teatro Fondamenta Nuove and the Fondazione Cini are organizing a very interesting evening about different approaches to African Music.
There will be round table talk at 6.30 pm by Prof. Serena Facci, Brian Shimkowitz and me.
I will play a one-hour-live-set at 9 pm. Brian Shimkowitz will play a DJ-Set at 10 pm.

This summer I will travel to Okinawa. Mina Mermoud, a great singer and sanshin Player, who grew up in Okinawa will join me. Together we will meet with the sanshin legend Mr. Tetsuhiro Daiku. He will introduce us to some traditional musicians of three different islands.
Later on I will work on a new album combining my type of music with the Okinawa field recordings and Minas Singing and Sanshin playing.
The Project is supported by the Goethe-Institut.

In 2012 I have to re-compose,re-arrange re-record or re-whatever the famous Nutcracker-Suite by Pjotr IljitschTschaikowsky. Though the Premiere will be in December 2012 (Kampnagel) I have already started to go through the score. I am not a good reader and for me it takes hours to learn these many part books written in all these different clefs.
It will be a contemporary dance piece by choreographer Antje Pfundtner.

My last album “The Kenya Sessions” will be released on a 2 X 12″ record. A label from Leipzig called Altinvillage will put out the record on February, 24.

Reviews:

„Wow. German composer Sven Kacirek’s ‘Kenya Sessions’ just landed on our desk and has totally blown us away. (…) Absolutely breathtaking stuff – possible contender for album of the year 2011!“ (Afrofutures)

„Sven Kacirek hat gerade auf dem Hamburger Label Pingipung ein so ungewöhnliches wie herausragendes Album veröffentlicht“ (Culturmag)“

„This is surely the way of the future.“ (Saturday Nation, Nairobi)

„Far from being a simple series of impressions (…) ist fascination endures.“ (The Wire)

„In jedem Fall aber bleiben die Sängerin Nengo und die anderen afrikanischen Musiker im Mittelpunkt der gefühlvoll gestalteten CD “The Kenya Sessions”. (Der Spiegel)

„Und das ist die Größe dieser in vielen Momenten melancholischen, repetitiven Musik: Sie ist wie ein Fluss, der Kulturen zusammenbringt, der die Grenzen des Analogen und Digitalen, des Akustischen und Elektronischen überwindet, der Welten miteinander verbindet und ihre verschiedenen Musikkulturen in neuen Farben schimmern lässt“ (Afrikapost)

„A marvellous bit of work, get it.“ (Incendiary)

„The Kenya Sessions erweitern unsere Hörgewohnheiten.“ (Die Zeit)

“Die Grenzen zwischen Akustikaufnahme und Bearbeitung, sie verschwimmen. Schön, dass Kacirek solche Sounds mit nach Hause gebracht hat.” (Popcast – gemeinsamer Podcast von Zündfunk und Goethe-Institut)

„Sven Kacirek hat sich mit kenianischen Musikerinnen und Musikern zusammen getan und so eine weitere spannende Musik geschaffen, die man als Weltmusik 2.0 bezeichnen könnte“ (de:bug)

„Great Experimental work“ (Bleep)

„Weltmusik der ganz besonderen Art“ (Quadrat)

„(…)At worst, it risks being a collection of racist Africanisms, borne of an oversimplified understanding of the music being heard. Fortunately for all of us, Sven Kacirek — jazz drummer, electronic producer, and impresario of The Kenya Sessions — avoids those pitfalls.“ (Tinymixtapes)

“Eine Verknüpfung afrikanischer Musik und Künstlern mit westlichem Ansatz via Livejams: So wie hier die einzelnen Instrumente zusammenfinden und die markante, tief aus der Seele kommende Stimme scheinbar über dem Instrumental schwebt und sich doch so intensiv daraus entwickelt – das passiert selbst bei Meisterwerken sehr selten.” (Michael Rütten, Deutsche Schallplattenkritik)

During the last years I have created music for many choreographers like Johnny Lloyd, Angela Guerreiro, Filip van Huffel or Philipp v.d. Heijden.

Creating Music for Antje Pfundtner is unique. During the last years I became a fan of her work and I am very happy to support her ideas musically. Working for Antje meanwhile feels almost like playing in a band…

Her new piece “Vertanzt” is premiered on November, 17 in Hamburg (Kampnagel). There are six more shows on the 18th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26nd.

Though I won t perform live in this piece, I will be present at all shows mixing and editing the music live.

Here comes a short extract of the music

Vertanzt Music Extract

Stefan Schneider and Sven Kacirek are back from Mukunguni Village. They did some unique recordings with the band of master drummer Salim Mwatela.
Contrary to “The Kenya Sessions” Stefan and Sven won t add any overdubs at all. The record will come out in 2012.

Together with Stefan Schneider (To Rococo Rot, Kreidler) Sven is travelling to Kenya again. For one week Stefan and Sven will stay in Mukunguni Village, which is very close to Malindi. The musicians of Mukunguni Village can be heard on the album “The Kenya Sessions” (Track title: “Trickled Away”)
Stefan and Sven are recording a new album together with the musicians of Mukunguni. The trip and the recordings are daily documented at www.barabara.fm
Again, the project is supported by the Goethe-Institut Nairobi.