Manu Delago, percussionniste, joueur de hang (instrument de musique acoustique ressemblant à une sphère métallique) est aussi compositeur.
Diplômé de l’Université Mozarteum d’Innsbruck en Autriche en percussions classique, Manu Delago emménage à Londres et étudie les percussions jazz à la Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Nombreuses de ses compositions comme ’If you really right’, ont été jouées dans plusieurs salles de concert prestigieuses comme le Konzerthaus de Vienne, le Roundhouse de Londres, le Concert Hall de Beijing, ou le Downtown Independent Theatre de Los Angeles.
Travail avec Björk
- Il joue du hang sur la version album de Virus.
Percussionniste sur les différentes tournées : - Tournée Biophilia (hang et percussions)
- Tournée Vulnicura
- Tournée Utopia
- Tournée Cornucopia
A propos de son travail avec Björk
How did you get started working with Björk ?
"That goes about nine years back now. She saw me on YouTube then and contacted me. I recorded for her album Biophilia, then on Vulnicura, and I’ve been playing drums and percussion in her band ever since.”
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How did Björk approach you for Cornucopia ?
“It grew out of her Utopia tour, so it was a natural step. It’s an extended live version of Utopia, but it’s by far the most visual and choreographed show. Before, I was wearing normal clothes and now, I’m wearing designer suits. It’s like a whole other world with the choreographer, the set designer, and the director. ”
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Can you tell me about the instruments you developed for the show ?
“It started in the bathtub, basically. The instrument I play is called a calabash, which is sort of a gourd from Mali, but we developed it so I’m not only playing one, I’m playing five of these calabashes, and I’m playing them in a tank of water so they are floating on water, basically playing all of these beats and percussion sounds in the water, and there is a lot of water splashing.
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I presented it to her with me at home in my bathtub. I mean, I was outside the bathtub, but the instruments were inside. I was filming it with my iPhone. Obviously, the idea needed more space, it’s not something you can easily do at home.
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The next step was finding something in the rehearsal space to create something similar. I think we used some IKEA storage boxes – you know, the plastic ones ? We filled them with water and then the set designer developed a specific water tank to fit into the overall Cornucopia design.”
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What’s Björk like to work with ?
“When the group got bigger, she got a bit closer with her immediate surroundings, like James (Merry) and her daughter. But when everyone wants a piece of you, you get more and more introverted, and seek your privacy in a way.”Dazed - Novembre 2019
