In our announcement for the world premiere of the combo Yek by Burnt Friedman and Mohammad Reza Mortazavi on 14th May 2017 at Volksbuehne, we wrote:
Yek, in Persian means “one”.
Damaskios (born around 462, died around 538 AD), the last head of the Neoplatonic school in Athens, taught the unspeakable, the one-all and the unified as the three basic concepts of his philosophy. However, he came into conflict with the expanding Christian teaching in the Eastern Roman Empire and had to flee to Persia.
It’s not an ordinary composition to combine a tombak, the principal percussion instrument of Persian music, together with synthesizers, sequencers and samplers. Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, currently one of the greatest tombak virtuoso worldwide, and Burnt Friedman, electronic musician active since 1978 in countless projects and different styles, did it. Continuously evolving patterns created a trance like atmosphere that night, the concert developed on the edge between chamber music and dance floor, offering complex rhythms, precise structures and great spontaneous improvisations.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is a herb deeply connected into Mediterranean culture as a symbol of love and death. As an incense, it produces a very intense, aromatic smell and a stimulating, refreshing effect. On the contrary, opoponax, the second essence chosen for the evening, a gum resin already cited by Pliny (Historia Naturalis) and Dioscorides (De Materia Medica) as a powerful medicine, impresses with its soothing and sensual note. A good combination to enjoy YEK.
VIDEO excerpts – 14. Mai 2017, 20 Uhr
YEK – Burnt Friedman: Electronics; Mohammad Reza Mortazavi:Tombak – Fabio Dondero und Dominik Breider (Incense burning): Rosmarin und Opoponax
Palais im Roten Salon, Volksbuehne Berlin
Kamera: Rasmus Bell, Tim Novikov, Stefan Blahut, Fabio Dondero
Video: Fabio Dondero