Making Tracks – Artists Announced for this September’s Concert
Inspired by musical traditions and the natural world, Making Tracks brings together exceptional musicians to showcase diverse music and create new collaborations during a month-long residency and tour.
Having previously performed at The Stoller Hall in 2022, Making Tracks returns with eight new international artists to perform here on Thursday 26 September 2024. (Tickets on sale here.)
We’re delighted to announce the eight chosen artists performing as part of the 2024 tour. Read on to discover more about each musician.
Anna Mcluckie (UK) – harpist and singer-songwriter
Ayman Hlal (Syria/Germany) – violinist, singer
Christian Mohr Levisen (Denmark) – hurdy gurdy player and multi-instrumentalist
Helen Anahita Wilson (UK) – composer, vocalist, sound artist, electronics
Kasiva Matua (Kenya) – percussionist, singer, guitarist
Nina Harries (UK) – double bassist and singer-songwriter
Ossi Raippalinna (Finland) – percussionist, electronics
Shohret Nur – Uyghur rawap and dutar player
Anna McLuckie
Anna McLuckie is a Scottish singer, songwriter and clàrsach player. Raised on classical and traditional music, Anna’s writing draws on her musical beginnings and also takes influence from her love of popular music and more experimental sounds. Her music sits in a world of contemporary folklore; her songs layered with interweaving harmonies, story led lyricism and free form structures. Based in London, she has performed in places around the world from Rockwood Music Hall
NYC, to a concert series in Russia, to house shows and folk sessions. She’s appeared at festivals across the UK and supported the likes of Jake Xerxes, Fussell, Rozi Plain and Richard Hawley.
Image credit: Andrea Terzuoli
Ayman Hlal
Ayman Hlal was born in As-Suwayda, a city in Syria that is particularly famous for producing artists. A rising star in his homeland, war in Syria resulted in Ayman seeking refuge in Berlin. Trained in both Western and Middle Easten classical music, he started several projects in Germany, which have exposed him to further musical traditions. As a result of these collaborations, Ayman has produced two albums featuring his own compositions and arrangements of oriental, flamenco and jazz music (‘Felah Mengu’ with the group Azuleo and the self-titled album of Tawabil Project). He has participated in several national and international events and projects, and performed with multiple orchestras and bands, including the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra (SEPO), and Nai’ Oriental Orchestra in Austria.
Christian Mohr Levisen
Christian Mohr Levisen is a multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in the rural area of Vendsyssel in northern Denmark. His main instrument is the rarely seen hurdy gurdy, a mechanical string instrument with roots in the Middle Ages that plays cello-like drones and melodies in the viola register. As the third ever in Scandinavia to graduate from his studies with a focus on this instrument, he now still works with adapting the instrument to different musical traditions. In addition, he also plays the Swedish cittern (10-string octave mandolin), an instrument that was developed to imitate the intricate ornaments and microtonal aspects of the Swedish violin traditions. Christian has played concerts and taught workshops in Denmark and throughout Europe.
Image credit: Siri Anna Flensburg
Helen Anahita Wilson
Helen Anahita Wilson is an Oram award-winning composer, sound artist, and performer who collaborates with trees, plants, people, and other living beings. As composer-in-residence at Chelsea Physic Garden in London, Helen’s creative relationship with plants has developed into a deep form of collaborative composition. Her unique interpretations of plant biodata and physiological activity readings, combined with her experimental Western and South Asian compositional techniques, have lead to a number of groundbreaking, interspecies music-making projects including her 2023 album, Linea Naturalis, with music derived from bioelectricity in plants with medicinal and healing properties.
Image credit: Matt Favero
Kasiva Matua
While Kasiva Mutua learned drumming inspired by folktales told by her grandmother, she has developed her own knack for powerful beats. One of Kenya’s leading percussionists and drummers, her expressive playing can tell a story on its own, or keep a band perfectly in the pocket. Today, she’s an international touring percussionist, integrating African traditional music with modern styles such as jazz, hip-hop, reggae, funk and more. One of only a few African women playing percussion continentally and internationally, Kasiva plays music to celebrate her community’s spirit, tell her people’s stories and elevate the place of African woman in music. She’s been involved in numerous intercultural musical collaborations including The Nile Project, 1Beat, x-Jazz women, Coke Studio Africa, and more.
Image credit: Infocus Studio
Nina Harries
Nina Harries is a double-bassist, songwriter, and vocalist. Her debut self-titled solo album was released in 2019 with funding from the PRS Women Make Music fund, while her second record ‘Water’, funded by Arts Council England and recorded entirely by Nina onboard her narrowboat home, was released in February 2022. In addition to her solo work, Nina is a Grammy-nominated double bassist who’s performed alongside numerous celebrated musicians including Akram Khan, touring extensively across the globe in his award-winning solo production, ‘Xenos’; Anoushka Shankar; sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta, and renowned Tabla player Gurdain Singh Rayatt. Nina also frequently performs for bharatanatyam and kathak dance productions.
Image credit: Philharmonia Orchestra
Ossi Raippalinna
Ossi Raippalinna is a Finland-based percussionist, producer, researcher, educator, and drum-maker. As part of his recent master’s studies at Sibelus Academy, field trips to Senegal, Mali, Scotland, and Cuba have enriched his understanding of the interplay between rhythm and melody in percussion traditions – particularly within West African drum traditions. Ossi’s repertoire includes the drum kit, keyboard, electronics, talking drum, djembe, bodhran, sabar, bugarabu, and congas. As well as making high-quality congas and djembe drums from sustainable Finnish wood, Ossi has taught hundreds of students across Finland, and set up an online platform in 2018, providing tutorials with master drummers. He’s also a founding member of the acclaimed Finland-based band Faso Kan (largely comprising musicians from Finland’s West African diaspora), as well as a percussionist and drummer in many other projects.
Image credit: Rio Gandara
Shohret Nur
Shohret Nur is a rawap and dutar player, originally from Xinjiang and currently based in London. An award-winning performer, Shohret specialises in the Uyghur stringed instruments, rawap and dutar. Shohret’s great grandfather was a musician and dutarplayer from kasghar, Xinjiang, while his grandmother was a dutar player and a professional dancer. Continuing this rich musical lineage and supported by his grandmother – Shohret’s first dutar teacher – Shohret fell in love with dutar and rawap as a young child. He has since reached an impressive mastery of these instruments, and is a talented composer as well as a virtuoso performer. Shohret is also a teacher, researcher, and skilled musical analyst, with a particular focus on the Uyghur Twelve Muqam classical music repertoire. He is currently a Research Assistant at the Music Department of SOAS, University of London.
Catch these musicians live here at The Stoller Hall this September.
Discover more about Making Tracks.
