Music
Manu Delago performs an exclusive handpan session
Hang out with the Bjork-approved Austrian percussionist and composer as he performs two tracks from his current album, Metromonk.
11 min
See. Hear. Now. with Manu Delago
The Austrian hang player artist Manu Delago shows us why he's tipped for the top with an exclusive performance and Q&A.
Watch Manu Delago perform Freeze (from 0m 35s) and Snow Screen (from 7m 14s) in the player above.
There were only two musicians onstage for Bjork’s celebrated Biophilia concerts: the Icelandic legend herself, and an Austrian percussionist called Manu Delago.
Among other instruments, Delago is one of the world’s leading players of the handpan, a tuned percussion instrument that looks like a cross between a UFO and a cooking pot, and makes a beautiful, haunting sound like an otherworldly steel drum. Bjork came across a video of Delago playing a solo on it, fell in love with the sound and invited him to collaborate.
Actually it wasn’t just the sound of the handpan that got Bjork’s attention. It was Delago’s obvious love for cross-cultural experimentation. As he explains in this exclusive session for RedBull.com, the percussionist has also played with orchestras and DJs, choirs and rock bands.
He studied classical percussion, took a masters in jazz drumming at London’s Guildhall, then worked on composition at the capital’s Trinity College. But he’s anything but traditional: he once wrote a piece called Music For Two Acoustic Toothbrushes.
Here you can see Delago play Freeze and Snowscreen, two tracks from his current third album, Metromonk. As he says here, the album is all about combining the quiet, ethereal side of the handpan with high-energy urban rhythm.
Manu Delago is currently touring worldwide with his new album Metromonk. All dates can be found on manudelago.com.
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