Arx Duo

American percussionists Garrett Arney and Mari Yoshinaga created an extraordinary South American soundscape inside St Alfege’s parish church in Greenwich by using a dozen caxixi – tiny basketry shakers filled with seeds – whose sound encapsulates the complex, beautiful and primal rhythms of Brazil. The work, prosaically titled Seeds, was written by Leonardo Gorosito and Rafael Alberto and was the highlight of a recital that saw 16 Trinity Laban percussionists and composers showcase their skills. Other than Arx Duo, the standouts for me were Thomas Leach using a contrabass bow to play a vibraphone in Michalina Sobaszek’s lovely Languor and Isis Dunthorne and Malgorzata Kepa teasing tam-tam, snare and cymbal in Marcus Elkjer’s LHEJ, an evocative tribute to composer Lou Harrison and legendary jazz drummer Elvin Jones.

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