Netherjazz: AWICHAS (NL/BO/US/GR/GB)

The Tampere Jazz Happening will mark the first performance in Finland of Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti, a musician, composer and multimedia artist who grew up in Brazil. And she will play two gigs in a row, on two consecutive days with her two different bands. The latter one is the multicultural MESTIZX, which will conclude Friday evening’s main concert in Pakkahuone. AWICHAS, which will be featured in Thursday evening’s free Netherjazz event, is likely to give some indication of what to expect.

The word ‘awichas’ comes from an indigenous language spoken in the Andes in South America. Its meaning encompasses at least ancestors and roots, cultural heritage and ancestors’ true homeland. This concept is also a key to the band’s music, which has been described as hypnotic, percussive and ritualistic among other adjectives. The question of how ancient knowledge of life inherited from our ancestors can influence possible futures is said to be at its core.

But this is not just speculation. The ensemble’s immersive work is partly based on field recordings made two years ago in the landlocked state of Bolivia by Guardia Fergutti (b. 1979), who lives in Amsterdam but was born in that country, and Jochem van Tol (b. 1983), a Dutch sound artist who plays synthesizers. They later developed their unique analogue electronic music based on these recordings and travel experiences, and AWICHAS, which has not produced any albums as yet, works on its own live interpretation of it.