I always thought that playing bass was a way for me to dance without being seen as a dancer. Maybe that is why I do so much enjoy working with dancers : to see the music I improvise rebound in the dancer's body and have the music dance back.
I grew up in a cultural mish-mash, one foot in Hungary , the other in England, and my nose in a Swiss village outside Geneva. My sister-in-law is from Pakistan and my kids are Swedes. Which leaves me with the option : make a good gulasch of it all or freak out. My cooking is lousy, though..but my playing has somehow been influenced by all this, in a good way I hope.
This might explain why I never really felt I fit in just one idiom, getting to a point where I rather try to embrace melodies, sounds and see how I can melt them together. I favour crooked melodies, crooked sounds . I often wonder about what happens when a melody breaks, or when a sound is shattered.I'm a big fan of what at first seems to be musical mishaps.
I have played with many fine musicians and dancers, and they have all given me the love of music and shared it with me. I'm not into writing a bunch of names. To acknowledge the joy and passion i have experienced with them feels far more important, and essential.
From some reviews on ARCHIPELAGO (solo bass, Kning Disk 2007):...
ARCHIPELAGO
"...
On the release of her first solo album, Nina de Heney
plays the double-bass as an extended body. Those who
have heard her perform live know that the art of her
improvisation has a deep empathetic quality as well as
she explores the possibilities of the instrument with
unpredictable carefreeness. Her music can sound soft
and billowing, evolving into a faster tempo; she
chisels the strings, drums with her fingers, rattles
percussives effects, bows new sound-scapes.
Impressive, all the way."
PM Jönsson Göteborgs Posten, sept 2007
"... I experience Nina de Heney's playing as being
similar to the way a dancer uses his or her body.
Every movement returns to a point of balance. She
moves to the edges, disolves, changes the sounds,
escapes, brushes against a point over and overe again
where music balances; steadily, yet with a consciuos
instability enabling hazard and unexpected ideas to
occur...."
Thomas Millroth, Sound of Music oct, 2007
"...Archipelago is not an easily digested life-style
sound-track; it rather needs time alone, several
careful listenings and a genuine desire
to push one's way through it's sediment......give Nina
de Heney your time and attention and you will be
richly rewarded by one of the maybe 20 records you
will never , ever dump on to a second-hand shop."
Musikhöra. Oct 2007
SHORT CV:........
born 1962, grew up in Coppet, Switzerland, started (secretly) playing bass at the age of 15, got found out when the music- store Hagman in Geneva called home to say the bass was only partly payed for. Participated for several years at the Ateliers at the A.M.R. in Geneva. Studied 1981 to 1983 at the New England Conservatory of Music with Miroslav Vitous. Moved to Sweden 1983. Started free-lamcing in Scandinavia. Further studies (classical) at the Göteborg Conservatory of Music 1988 to 1993, solist diploma 2004-2006.
Besides having continuously free-lanced in Scandinavia, I have collaborated many years with the dancer Anna Westberg with whom I co- founded the festival Dance'n bass that was initiated in May 2008.
Actual groups: Acoustic Electronics (with Charlotte Hug and Christian Jormin), Ullén/de Heney duo ( with Lisa Ullén, piano), Nordlund-de Heney duo ( with Emma Nordlund, cello) , Lila ( with Björn Almgren, sax, Henrik Wartel, drums), Christian Jormin 3.
Nominated to the GOLD Jazz Katt Award at the Swedish Jazz Celebration 2009.
Recipient of several grants from the Swedish National Arts Council .
Recipient of the Stena A. Olssons Culture Award , shared with dancer Anna Westberg 2007.
Hey, I just wanted to stop by to say what's up and Happy December! ;) Can't believe it's already the end of the year! God bless and have a great rest of the week!
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MORSURE SOUFFLE 5 tracks electroacoustic/musique concrète album. click on the cover to download the full records in a .zip released by Test tube. cdr version on Mitenand. music under CC by-nc-nd, copy & share it, thanks