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BATIDA, this "monster from the cosmos", is an explosive cocktail, a constant bass, the harmonic hum of matter spreading in vibrations.
Formed in 2010 in Geneva,Ensemble Batida is a collective of five musicians, percussionists and pianists, eager to explore: Jeanne Larrouturou, Anne Briset, Viva Sanchez Reinoso, Raphaël Krajka, Alexandra Bellon. From project to project, their imaginations blend the acoustic power of percussive instruments with the broader sound spectrum of electronic music. Involved in both contemporary written music and improvisation, they produce transdisciplinary concerts and scenic objects, and set themselves few limits in their experimentation.
Etude de bois, at Ferme de la Chapelle, Geneva November 1, 2020
Their concept concerts unfold like poetic architectures, generating singular installations, invented instruments and unusual configurations. "Virtuosos of the fusion of timbres"¹, they know how to explore the infinitely small at the heart of sound, and practice cutting-edge goldsmithery. Live, audiences are captivated by their stage energy and musical osmosis, qualities they apply to repertoire pieces or collaborative projects with other disciplines.
Their experience of collective composition of amplified music, at the crossroads of experimental and contemporary music, began with a collaboration with Belgian choreographer Jens van Daele (opening of the Jomba contemporary dance festival in South Africa in 2012, creation and 26-date tour of the show "Spring Tide" in Holland in 2013, re-creation of "Battre le Fer/Battre le Noir" at the Théâtre du Galpon, Geneva in 2014). Enriched by this experience, the group pursues transdisciplinary encounters and the creation of music for concerts or the stage, such as their diptych OBLIKVAJ/DIGITA (2017-2021), an artistic and human adventure with the Hécatombe drawing collective.
DIGITA - Collective creation in September 2020 at Cave 12, Geneva
Their new collaboration is a commission from Ensemble Contrechamps, for ensemble and electronics, composed with Antye Greie-Ripatti (AGF), and premiered on April 20, 2021 as part of the Archipel festival.
Their discography includes several albums: Monographie Martin Matalon (Editions VDE-Gallo, 2017); Jens Van Daele's Burning bridges - Spring Tide (2018), the fruit of their compositional work with rock musician Richard van Kruysdijk; OBLIKVAJ - Anthologie (2019), a series of vinyls and flexi-discs devoted to the group's compositions set to graphic scores by the Hécatombe collective; Sound Journeys: Switzerland (label Nonclassical-2020), an album on which the group appears alongside other committed artists from the Swiss experimental music scene.
Ensemble Batida has received several awards since its creation in 2010, including the Jean-François Chaponnière chamber music prize, 2nd prize in the Nicati competition dedicated to contemporary music, and was a finalist in the Russolo electroacoustic composition prize. The ensemble has performed at prestigious festivals and concert halls in French-speaking Switzerland (Cave 12, SMC, Festival Archipel, Aubes musicales, Jardins musicaux), German-speaking Switzerland (Chamber Music Circle, Gare du Nord/IGNM Basel, Festival ZeitRaüme) and abroad (Festival ReMusik-St Petersburg, Why Note-Dijon, La Péniche-Chalon-sur-Saône).
Sandrine Maricot Despretz
