Arts Centre Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium

“I really look forward to working with Misirli Ahmet. He’s a real philosopher, a virtuoso and he’s at home in several genres.” – Stéphane Galland, drummer for Aka Moon, talking about percussionist Misirli Ahmet.

We’ve known for years that Aka Moon likes to experiment with music from other parts of the world. The band has previously played excellent concerts with percussionists Baba Sissoko from Mali, Doudou N’Diaye from Senegeal (featured on Vooruit’s live album) and Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman from India. When we were looking for Belgian artists to collaborate with Turkish musicians for the Istanbul Ekspres festival, Aka Moon was at the top of our list. And as it turns out, Aka Moon was more than happy to participate in the festival. The trio has been listening to Misirli Ahmet’s music day and night ever since.

Misirli Ahmet is a virtuoso on the darbuka, a vase-shaped drum originating in the Middle East. He learned the trade in Egypt (Misirli is Turkish for “from Egypt”), developed his own technique and revolutionized darbuka music. Ahmet is not only a pleasure to listen to, his inimitable sleight of hand will leave you in awe live.

This unique collaboration will be a feast for the eyes and the ears. Aka Moon conjures up melodies and harmonies, while Misirli Ahmet concocts diverse rhythms and changes of tempo.