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Tony Overwater’s Spirits

Tony Overwater’s Spiritual Unit:

Tony Overwater has always been taken by the spirituality of music; the magic of sound, of improvisation. For this new ensemble he carefully selected two female and two male musicians, each with different cultural backgrounds. Turkish kemençe player Emine Bostanci and Iranian ud player Yasamin Shahhosseini, both from the young generation of musicians that is breaking musical boundaries and finding new ways of spirituality in music, German percussionist Ruven Ruppik and Initiator and bassist Tony Overwater. The music will linger around the borders of Persian, Turkish and Arabic music with plenty of room for improvisation but also unexpected twists.

Emine Bostanci – kemençe
Yasamin Shahhosseini – oud
Tony Overwater – violone double bass
Ruven Ruppik – percussion

Emine Bostanci (Istanbul,1995)- kemençe

To be able to play the 50cm tall kemençe, a three string bowed instrument from Turkey, needs dedication, determination and precision, three qualities that suit the modest but radiant personality of Emine Bostanci. Her sensitivity reflects the sound of the instrument, full of nuance and detail. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, the young Emine spread her wings to Europe after finishing her education on classical Ottoman music and is currently doing a PHD at the university of Amsterdam. She searches to combine her classical Ottoman music with contemporary music and seeks collaborations with many different musicians ensembles.

Yasamin Shahhosseini (Tehran, 1992) – oud

“Tradition is the sum of all (persian) music, the history on which modern music comes into being” Yasamin once said in an interview. And this is exactly what makes her a remarkable and excellent player. She breathes in all musical history and breathes out her own personal style that is firmly rooted in tradition, yet seeks every possible way in the contemporary world. The oud is an instrument that is at the base of Arabic and Persian music, like the piano or the guitar in western music. As a composer, this gives Yasamin the freedom to express herself and find strong connection to many different cultures.

Tony Overwater (Rotterdam, 1965) – violone double bass

Curiosity might have killed the cat but it did very well for bass player Tony Overwater. After a traditional jazz education at the Royal conservatoire in The Hague he was asked to tour with free jazz musicians David Murray and Sunny Murray. He started his own band and won many awards among which the Boy Edgar prize. A tour to Lebanon and Syria in 2001 changed his life when he came in contact with Arabic music. Since then he has been developing his own style by integrating Arabic and later Persian music in his own musical language. In 2013 started to play a new instrument, the violone, this ancestor of the double bass, part of the viol family, gave Tony the range and agility to use the bass even more as a solo instrument and create a style that combines influences of the Arabic Ud, the European lute, gamba and double bass.

Ruven Ruppik (Rheda Wiedenbrück, 1986) – percussion

Starting of with classical percussion and marimba, Ruven ventured to many different styles and musical cultures. He did a master study in Indian tabla, became a very successful Cajon player, playing accompanying many different flamenco stars and became a much sought after Arabic Riq and framedrum player. The question is, what can’t he play? Besides his versatility he is foremost a sensitive and attentive musician who can shine as a soloist and be serving as an accompanist in a heart beat.

SPiRiTS Live: Spirit of St Jean

SPiRiTS live at MENA in Oosterpoort, Groningen May 19, 2023
Composition: Spirit of St Jean – Tony Overwater

Yasamin Shahhosseini – ud
Emine Bostanci – kemençe
Tony Overwater – violone
Ruven Ruppik – percussion

Video – Michal Grycko

SPiRiTS Live: Dareyn

SPiRiTS live at MENA in Oosterpoort, Groningen May 19, 2023
Composition: Dareyn – Emine Bostanci

Yasamin Shahhosseini – ud
Emine Bostanci – kemençe
Tony Overwater – bass
Ruven Ruppik – percussion

Video – Michal Grycko

SPiRiTS Live: Ashera

SPiRiTS live at MENA in Oosterpoort, Groningen May 19, 2023
Composition: Ashera – Tony Overwater

Yasamin Shahhosseini – ud
Emine Bostanci – kemençe
Tony Overwater – bass
Ruven Ruppik – percussion

Video – Michal Grycko

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