By Sammy Stein
Wallis Bird is an Irish musician residing in Berlin. She has released six
studio albums, including ‘Architect’ in 2014, and Home in 2016. She
performed at the
Eurosonic Festival
in 2012, when Ireland was the Spotlight Country, and has worked with
numerous musicians on various projects.
Luise Volkmann is a German
jazz
and
improvisation musician
and composer. She has played with Devin Gray,
Satoko Fujii,
Xu Fengxia,
Moritz Sembritzki, and
Natsuki Tamura, among others. As a bandleader, she founded small bands such as Konglomerat
and also large ensembles in Germany and France. Her newest large ensemble is
Ete Large, featuring herself and a dozen musicians.
Ete Large, under the direction of Volkmann, has released an EP featuring two
beautifully contrasting tracks, featuring Wallis’s vocals, pragmatically
titled Ete Large and Wallis Bird. Volkmann is delighted to have worked
with Wallis and calls it a beautiful cooperation. The first track on the EP
is ‘Chorale, my quiet Pal’. It is an atmospheric, gentle number, featuring
Wallis’s superb vocals, which are wonderfully suited to this music. She
transitions from beautifully pitched melody to keening, emotive phrasing,
and the backing of deep brass and woodwinds adds atmosphere and nuance to
the vocal lines.
The second track is a complete contrast. ‘Their Quotes and How They Twist
Them,’ and Wallis shines here with beautifully told stories about living
with people and having to listen to them as they talk about different
things, twisting what is said. The ensemble orchestration is creative and
supportive, enhancing the beauty of the lyrics and harmony of the vocals.
If you want to know more about Ete Large, the links below are highly
recommended.
Two contrasting tracks of superb quality.
Wallis EP : https://luisevolkmann.bandcamp.com/album/t-large-and-wallis-bird