Jon Balke / Batagraf - Say And Play

Facts Six years on from "Statements", Batagraf's ECM debut, the collective returns with transformed personnel but unchanged priorities. Drumming as language and language harnessed as music: both aspects remain important for this "percussion think-tank" of Norwegian origin, thoroughly international in it's aspirations. "Drumming is speaking and language is a miracle, in all it's manifestations" notes co-founder Jon Balke of Batagraf's mission. "In the Orisha culture of the Yoruba in Nigeria, manifested and surviving vividly in Cuba, the Bata drum patterns symbolize sacred texts. In Arabic music the metric patterns stem from lines of poetry. In Wolof culture Bakas are small personal poems that define a drummer's identity and purpose in life; they are also played and used as breaks or signals to alter the flow of the music." Inspired by these rich traditions, "Say and Play" draws upon the inner energy and creativity of the cultures, as Batagraf continues to explore the relation between language and rhythms, also offering language that celebrates the rhythms of nature.