nadiabirkenstock

"The clarity of her voice and her extraordinary musical touch and personal charm captivate her audience": this was how the French newspaper DNA described the singer and harpist Nadia Birkenstock.
She discovered the Celtic harp at the age of 16 at a concert given by the legendary Scottish harp duo Sìleas; today she is one of the leading German folk harpists, playing concerts all over Europe and the USA.

Nadia Birkenstock describes her quest for beautiful sounds as follows: “When I play or compose, I try to exploit all the nuances of the harp. Deep basses, lyrical intermediate voices and diaphanous descant notes … my aim is to produce a multidimensional soundscape and to elicit maximum energy from the harp strings”.

In 2010, the Welsh percussionist Steve Hubback used MySpace to express his interest in a joint musical venture with Nadia.

Steve Hubback has an incredible CV: he began his musical career as a professional drummer and percussionist, touring the whole of Europe and even reaching South Korea.
Always on the lookout for unusual percussion sounds, he discovered metalworking in Scandinavia and started to manufacture his own instruments. This was a great success: within two years leading Scandinavian percussionists were using his instruments, which soon invaded the global percussion scene.
With his instruments and tonal sculptures, which are breathtakingly beautiful not only in terms of sound but also visually, he is a pioneer in the field of cymbal and gong design.

Nadia and Steve quickly found common musical ground, both of them being open to experimentation and improvisation.
Not only that, but they also share the goal of enticing listeners into their enchanted tonal worlds.

Their joint live debut was at the opening concert of the international harp festival in Sentmenat/Barcelona 2010. This was followed by concerts in the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
The time had come to capture the shared tonal magic in a recording studio.

The recording took place at the beginning of 2013 at Mindpark Studios in Eindhoven, Holland, with the assistance of the multitalented Ralph Timmermann, who also provided the photos and a live video.

The first track on the CD begins mysteriously, building up a broad tonal spectrum: sparkling and shimmering, harp and dulcimer cascading over gong and psaltery tones.
A delicate dance-like melody ensues, metamorphosing into a more complex improvised section. Harp notes hover between brilliant gongs and cymbals, borne along by a velvety bass drum: when both musicians weave their tonal fabric, it creates a virtually irresistible aura, tonal beauty and a depth of sound you cannot get enough of!
Tonal landscapes in which you can fully immerse yourself because there is so much to see and hear.
Atmospheric pieces alternate with virtuoso numbers (“A la Source”, “Fontaine la Jolie”) and rhythmic songs (“The Lothian Hairst” and “The Snow it melts the soonest”), which are backed by the “groove” of the percussion rhythms.

nadiabirkenstock’s tracks

• The Glow Within_Intro_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_The Snow it melts the soonest_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_First Snow_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_Shine_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_Brian Boru's March_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_Interlude Brian Boru_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_The Siege_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_La Veille_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_Distant Shore_preview by nadiabirkenstock
• The Glow Within_L'Animal Sorcier_preview by nadiabirkenstock