Newsletter #3

Hello friends!

In this newsletter, I want to introduce my new project Bitoi. Maybe my most comprehensive and ambitious project to date. And I am so happy to finally start to share this project with you.

Also, at the end of the newsletter, I will disclose who the winner of the giveaway, the scarf, is.

Background

In January 2022 I got a question from Inkonst (a venue in Malmö) to be their composer-in-residence for their festival Intonal 2023. The assignment was to compose a piece for the festival, that should have its premiere at the festival.

The requirements were as follows:

- The duration of the piece should be 45 minutes.

- It should be with some kind of ensemble, I cannot play solo.

- It should be premiering at the Intonal festival 2023.

Concept

This was the golden opportunity to realize a concept that I have had in my head for years.

In short, the vision is to interweave the electric bass and the voice into a larger instrument by the means of live processing of sound, as well as with extended techniques.

Bitoi is a fully written piece where I tried to lean on our traditions while exploring the outskirts of me as a composer and us, the project members, as musicians.

My interest in this project lies partly as mentioned before, in interweaving the voice and electric bass. And that is mostly because of the differences between them. The voice has always been a part of us and is an instrument that exists everywhere, which makes it the most diverse, used and investigated instrument we have. The electric bass on the other hand is an instrument that is very young and is often put in the same context no matter the genre. My goal and ambition with this project are to merge these two very different entities into one bigger monolith, mixing up the perspectives and roles of what these instruments can and cannot do.

The name?

Bitoi stands for Bass Is The Original Instrument. And is a paraphrase of Joan La Barbara's record; Voice Is the Original Instrument. However, I know, Electric Bass is not the original instrument haha. But I think the name capsulated the idea of this project quite well, trying to handle the bass as the original ”first” instrument and putting it in context with the original instrument, the voice.

Who? The ensemble

Alexandra Shabo (voice):

I don't know where I meet Alexandra for the first time, but she has been a key member of Malmö's music environment for years. The first I noticed when seeing Alexandra perform was her timing and presence. She is probably one of the most groovy musicians I've played with. And she is one of those musicians that makes everyone else sound better. A golden member to have on your team.

Alexandra’s Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/alexshaboo/

Anja Tietze Lahrmann (voice):

Anja is a Copenhagen-based composer and singer whom I first met during my study time at Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium. The first thing that struck me in her voice was its clarity. But also her ability to convey so much emotion with very small means, in a way that I find very unique. Apart from being a great singer, she is a great composer. I think you all should listen to her solo project Excelsior.

Excelsior:
Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4GcbIiUaMp2b0F8gIIOuEc?si=oVDxoq8HRcKPXC_lVzWq_g

Bandcamp:

https://thebigoilrecordingcompany.bandcamp.com/album/oil049-fit-for-fiction

Anjas Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/excelsior_xx/

Lise Kroner (voice):

Lise is also Copenhagen based and one of the singers that I have collaborated the most with. She was a member of one of my latest bands ”Cassius Lambert Orchestra”, but we also played in other groups together through the years. One thing that always strikes me about Lise is how free she is with her instrument. She never seems limited, neither technically nor emotionally, to convey what she wants to convey. In a very impressive way.

You find her Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/lisekroner/

And me on electric bass/electronics and composition.

The music

As always, it's hard to describe music. But I feel the outcome is something that is vulnerable and strong, human and hard. It is a bit like if the cathedral was made for dancing.

I hereby invite you to see the premiere of this project. Welcome!

When

30th April at 19:30.

Where

Intonal, Inkonst, Malmö.

Tickets

Today Intonal released their early bird tickets. Link below.

https://secure.tickster.com/sv/49tmkjtrz6pk4vj/products

Instagram:

I have created an Instagram for Bitoi, and if you find the project interesting, you can follow it here; https://www.instagram.com/bitoi.music/

Share:

If you would like to share this project on you Social Media profiles, we would be very happy. I made a folder where you can download the pictures and graphics for this project.

You find it here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E4UKHmwShEUY6w8KYuUP2j1mX7LWu7r_?usp=sharing

Winner of the scarf!

First of all, thank you for signing up for the giveaway! So fun! :). The winner was randomly selected and was @hwangstrom. Big congratulations! :)

CONCERTS

January is as always a very concert-empty month, but soon the touring starts again. Looking forward. Hope to see you!

2023

9 February. Tarabband. Cairo Jazz Club. Cario, Egypt

10 February. Tarabband. Cairo Opera. Cairo, Egypt.

11 February. Tarabband. Alexandria Biblotecha. Alexandria, Egypt.

21 February. Tarabband. Selam Sessions. Stockholm.

27 February. Nadin & Cassius Duo. Hyllie Park. Malmö, Sweden.

20 March. Tarabband. Västerås Konserthus. Västerås, Sweden.

29 March. Nadin & Cassius Duo. Fridhem Folkhögskola. Svalöv, Sweden.

1 April. Nadin & Cassius Duo. Tikoton. Malmö, Sweden.

2 April. Nadin & Cassius. Cowgirl Gallery. Malmö, Sweden.

5 April. Nadin & Cassius. Allhelgona Kyrka. Malmö, Sweden.

16 April. Nadin & Cassius. Åkarp, Sweden.

30 April. Cassius Lambert BITOI (Premier). Intonal, Inkonst. Malmö, Sweden.

27 May. Tarabband. Göteborgs Opera. Gothenburg, Sweden.

26 June. Tarabband. Nässelforsa festivalen. Sweden.

5 August. CB3. Krach am Bach. Germany.

19 August. Tarabband. Vitabergsparken. Stockholm, Sweden.

Cant wait to share more of this project further on! Thank you for reading! :)

Best,

Cassius Lambert

Instagram / Facebook / Website

CONTACT

Cassius Lambert

Ahlmansgatan 4

21427 Malmö, Sweden