Partir
by Elina Duni
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Fluent in 5 languages: English, French, Italian, German & Albanian. Singing in 9 languages. Writing her own songs. Playing a number of instruments. Elina Duni is a striking artist with a busy European tour schedule promoting her latest ECM LP, Partir. It is a great pleasure to have her share some of her thoughts and sounds with our HocTok community. Who is Elina Duni in her own words? What does Elina's music sound like? I am an interpreter of folk music, Albanian folk music, but also of other folk music of the Mediterranean region. I am a storyteller. I take songs, which often come from folk tradition, and I arrange them, I change them incorporating jazz influences. |
I am also a singer-songwriter, mostly in Albanian, but now I'm writing songs in French and in English. That's my next step.
Has it been easy or difficult to find an audience knowing that you started out performing mostly Albanian folk music and music rooted in the Balkan folk tradition?
I was very lucky because I started to play with Swiss musicians who were already famous in Switzerland and abroad. Performing with these great musicians, especially at the beginning stage of this project, helped me to reach out to agents. We started playing our own shows all across Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, UK.
The thing is that this was a special project because not so many singers were doing anything like it. Mixing old Balkan songs with Jazz. In addition to that, I concentrated only on this project. I was not doing anything else. I was not teaching. Another positive factor was the help that I received from the Government. I got financial backing and that was a big plus. It is expensive to go on tour. The music I've made would not have happened without the financial support I have received from the Swiss Government and several Foundations.
What type of music do you listen to when you're not writing or making your own music?
I listen to other folk music. I listen to African music, music from Mali, Morocco. I listen to classical and contemporary jazz, not only American jazz, but also European Jazz. I also listen to classical music: Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann. The Romantics. There are so many of them. And I love Debussy and Ravel, the impressionists. I listen to indie music: Radiohead. I love Radiohead. I don't listen to hip hop or contemporary pop music. But I listen to artists like Leonard Cohen, Johnny Mitchell, Pink Floyd…
What inspires your musical journey?
Life, of course. I have been writing loads about love and myself and these kinds of things, but there is a change occurring in my writing now. I have been involved in debates about ecological issues in Albania. I've been learning about matters concerning hydropower plants. We were a group of artists protesting plans for a new power plant. I am concerned with ecological and social issues. This has reflected in my music because I am writing about all these major issues we are facing. I am writing about things that don't concern only me but concern us all.
Tell us more about your latest ECM LP, Partir, which you are currently promoting throughout Europe.
Yes, I'm on tour. My latest album, a solo album, came out last April. It's titled, Partir, in French, or Departure, in English. It's also out in America, distributed through ECM. The last two years have been very intensive for me, working on this solo project. I came out of a major love story and the quartet with whom I had been playing for the last eleven years took a real break. At that moment, I felt alone. I had to face the reality of being alone. I had to trust the unknown.
It brought back memories of when I left Albania as a ten years old child. When I arrived in Switzerland, I was torn apart. It was a big change in my life. It also made me think of what's happening with the Syrian immigrants in Europe and all over the world.
This made me realize that I had to take a journey on my own. This journey would be about how to rise and move away from this pain when you have been torn away from somewhere, from someone. How do you find joy again? What is this journey? How can you make it? For me, I had to do it alone. I had to do it my way. The songs of the album are in nine different languages. They talk about departure. They talk about love. I play piano, guitar, and percussion myself. I am currently on tour with this project until the end of the year. I have been touring intensively since the release in April 2018.
Has it been easy or difficult to find an audience knowing that you started out performing mostly Albanian folk music and music rooted in the Balkan folk tradition?
I was very lucky because I started to play with Swiss musicians who were already famous in Switzerland and abroad. Performing with these great musicians, especially at the beginning stage of this project, helped me to reach out to agents. We started playing our own shows all across Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, UK.
The thing is that this was a special project because not so many singers were doing anything like it. Mixing old Balkan songs with Jazz. In addition to that, I concentrated only on this project. I was not doing anything else. I was not teaching. Another positive factor was the help that I received from the Government. I got financial backing and that was a big plus. It is expensive to go on tour. The music I've made would not have happened without the financial support I have received from the Swiss Government and several Foundations.
What type of music do you listen to when you're not writing or making your own music?
I listen to other folk music. I listen to African music, music from Mali, Morocco. I listen to classical and contemporary jazz, not only American jazz, but also European Jazz. I also listen to classical music: Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann. The Romantics. There are so many of them. And I love Debussy and Ravel, the impressionists. I listen to indie music: Radiohead. I love Radiohead. I don't listen to hip hop or contemporary pop music. But I listen to artists like Leonard Cohen, Johnny Mitchell, Pink Floyd…
What inspires your musical journey?
Life, of course. I have been writing loads about love and myself and these kinds of things, but there is a change occurring in my writing now. I have been involved in debates about ecological issues in Albania. I've been learning about matters concerning hydropower plants. We were a group of artists protesting plans for a new power plant. I am concerned with ecological and social issues. This has reflected in my music because I am writing about all these major issues we are facing. I am writing about things that don't concern only me but concern us all.
Tell us more about your latest ECM LP, Partir, which you are currently promoting throughout Europe.
Yes, I'm on tour. My latest album, a solo album, came out last April. It's titled, Partir, in French, or Departure, in English. It's also out in America, distributed through ECM. The last two years have been very intensive for me, working on this solo project. I came out of a major love story and the quartet with whom I had been playing for the last eleven years took a real break. At that moment, I felt alone. I had to face the reality of being alone. I had to trust the unknown.
It brought back memories of when I left Albania as a ten years old child. When I arrived in Switzerland, I was torn apart. It was a big change in my life. It also made me think of what's happening with the Syrian immigrants in Europe and all over the world.
This made me realize that I had to take a journey on my own. This journey would be about how to rise and move away from this pain when you have been torn away from somewhere, from someone. How do you find joy again? What is this journey? How can you make it? For me, I had to do it alone. I had to do it my way. The songs of the album are in nine different languages. They talk about departure. They talk about love. I play piano, guitar, and percussion myself. I am currently on tour with this project until the end of the year. I have been touring intensively since the release in April 2018.
How do you characterize being on tour, traveling from country to country, and all it entails?
Well, I love traveling. I love to be on the go. When you are on tour, there are unique moments when you live only for the music. The whole day you're on the road, you're on standby, and you preserve any type of energy for the performance, for the evening. All that matters is the music you'll play at night.
I love meeting all these new people. I love seeing all these new places. Adapting myself to different languages, to different people, to different ways of thinking. And because this is not just a solo concert but also a kind of a show, I have written poetical texts for in between songs. Originally, the texts were written in French, but they've been translated in German, Italian and English. I change my language depending on the country I am playing. It makes me have a different experience each time. It's passionate and it's inspiring to be alone on tour because it's like meditation.
Who are the musicians and artists who have supported you?
My quartet: Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret, Norbert Pfammatter.
Now I am working very intensively with Rob Luft. He's a big inspiration for me, at the moment. And I also have a new jazz quintet featuring Swiss pianist Marc Perrenoud and French trumpet player David Enhco.
Switching gears a bit, how do you see the role of arts in today's busy world?
I think the world needs a hippie revolution. A new one. This is why I love the 70s. I love Janis Joplin and I love Leonard Cohen. I miss people who are real masters. They have a message for the world. A lot of artists today have the power to be heard. They don't use their power to make an impact. There are no more role models. There are celebrities, but they are not people who are celebrating things other than their own careers or their own success.
Give love. Give hope. Do something.
It's a crazy world we are living in. Part of the world is dying of hunger. The rest of the world does not want to see all the pain. There are major ecological issues. We will all have to face these issues.
I also get lost in all of this madness at times. There is a loss of values. A loss of humanity. For me, the loss of values is a loss of humanity. We have all become more superficial. Somehow. We are not in touch with our true selves, our feelings, our own thoughts. And then the attention. It is very hard to get people's attention. It is very hard now to concentrate on anything without getting a message, without something disturbing you every single moment.
We are all fighting against all of this disturbance. I am also fighting hard to get back the will and the patience to read a book from cover to cover. It amazes me because I used to read a lot.
Greed. Greed. Greed. I am sorry to bring this up but…
What makes you happy?
A nice evening with people I like. Drink some good wine. Feel connected to the world. I feel connected to the world when I am around people whom I love. And also, nature makes me happy. Being out in nature makes me happy.
What are you looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to the future hoping that I'll always feel inspired.
Thank you, Elina!
For more information on Elina Duni, visit her website: elinaduni.com
Well, I love traveling. I love to be on the go. When you are on tour, there are unique moments when you live only for the music. The whole day you're on the road, you're on standby, and you preserve any type of energy for the performance, for the evening. All that matters is the music you'll play at night.
I love meeting all these new people. I love seeing all these new places. Adapting myself to different languages, to different people, to different ways of thinking. And because this is not just a solo concert but also a kind of a show, I have written poetical texts for in between songs. Originally, the texts were written in French, but they've been translated in German, Italian and English. I change my language depending on the country I am playing. It makes me have a different experience each time. It's passionate and it's inspiring to be alone on tour because it's like meditation.
Who are the musicians and artists who have supported you?
My quartet: Colin Vallon, Patrice Moret, Norbert Pfammatter.
Now I am working very intensively with Rob Luft. He's a big inspiration for me, at the moment. And I also have a new jazz quintet featuring Swiss pianist Marc Perrenoud and French trumpet player David Enhco.
Switching gears a bit, how do you see the role of arts in today's busy world?
I think the world needs a hippie revolution. A new one. This is why I love the 70s. I love Janis Joplin and I love Leonard Cohen. I miss people who are real masters. They have a message for the world. A lot of artists today have the power to be heard. They don't use their power to make an impact. There are no more role models. There are celebrities, but they are not people who are celebrating things other than their own careers or their own success.
Give love. Give hope. Do something.
It's a crazy world we are living in. Part of the world is dying of hunger. The rest of the world does not want to see all the pain. There are major ecological issues. We will all have to face these issues.
I also get lost in all of this madness at times. There is a loss of values. A loss of humanity. For me, the loss of values is a loss of humanity. We have all become more superficial. Somehow. We are not in touch with our true selves, our feelings, our own thoughts. And then the attention. It is very hard to get people's attention. It is very hard now to concentrate on anything without getting a message, without something disturbing you every single moment.
We are all fighting against all of this disturbance. I am also fighting hard to get back the will and the patience to read a book from cover to cover. It amazes me because I used to read a lot.
Greed. Greed. Greed. I am sorry to bring this up but…
What makes you happy?
A nice evening with people I like. Drink some good wine. Feel connected to the world. I feel connected to the world when I am around people whom I love. And also, nature makes me happy. Being out in nature makes me happy.
What are you looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to the future hoping that I'll always feel inspired.
Thank you, Elina!
For more information on Elina Duni, visit her website: elinaduni.com
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HOCTOK IS A PUBLICATION OF VSW ARTHOUSE CORP, A NON-PROFIT 501(C)(3) organization, based in BROOKLYN - NY.