heklAa

Piano-sound-worlds by heklAa from Alsace

Aus dem Elsaß: heklAa

This weekend we wish to present you a very beautiful one-man-project from France at Soundkartell. In the last weeks we’ve discovered the alternative solo-jazz project heklAa.

Again and again it is astonishing, what some individual musicians are capable of. Which opportunities musicians especially these days have to compose music and produce it in the end. This is what we also first and foremost thougt about the soloproject heklAa from Ingersheim in France. It is very instrumental, alternative and inspired by jazz. It is the Frenchman Sébastian Touraton who is standing for the project and who actually plays all the instruments himself. Considering his recent work PIECES OF YOU those are quite a lot. However, this isn’t totally correct since together with the album he recently released a piano album as well. Means, that here we listen to exclusively instrumental and extensive piano sounds.

Somehow this is a wonderful idea. The other day I have even been in the Alsace region. The first time. And it is truly beautiful there – lanscape-wise. The rugged landscape and the many vineyards and castles, all that matches perfectly with the mood, presented to us by Sébastian in his 9 tracks. Like just said – they are played exclusively at the piano and this reminds us of artists such as Nils Frahm, Jan Roth, Martin Kohlstedt but also Yann Tiersen.

At a radio station we would call the sound easy-listening music. But this doesn’t live up to the music by the Alsatian. He varies a lot with tempo and rhythm. This way he manages to transfer a certain kind of emotionality into his songs, so that we calmly listen to his music. Just as if he sits in front of us and tells an exciting and graphic story. Hereby we rest our heads on the shoulder of the person next to us and enjoy the moment.

heklAa – to us a very special name for a music project. However, for this kind of music it suits perfectly. The name creates a certain space for interpretation and allows for everybody to think about it what one wishes. Pure personal interpretation and this is what many musicians do not allow for nowadays. Not so heklAa.