New York’s celebrated Max ZT (House of Waters), and Tokyo/Black Country’s lauded Dan Whitehouse combine their inventive energy to bring a live tour to the UK this October. ZT, the hammered dulcimer player compared to Hendrix and the ever-regenerating Whitehouse, use spoken word and virtuoso playing to create impactful (often improvised) pieces with a belief in the healing power of music at its core.
On this, their second UK tour, the duo will be showcasing their debut album, ‘Ten Steps’ (out in September). They originally met online in 2021 via the Womex award-winning international collaboration programme Global Music Match. This collection shows how effectively they have fed off each other’s unique creativity to deliver stunning work with live shows promising to deliver captivating, immersive performances. ‘Ten Steps’ was recorded between New York City and Tokyo and completed with improvisations captured at their meditative live gigs during 2021. Also featuring in the shows will be music from their recent solo projects: Dan ‘The Glass Age’ and Max ‘Daybreak’
ZT is known as an innovator, although he can trace his roots back to Irish folk music. He creates complex and beautiful compositions from a much-expanded set of influences. Studying in Senegal with the Cissokho griot family and in India, where he received a grant to study under the santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Part of the celebrated trio House Of Waters, ZT is signed solo to Six Degrees Records.
He expanded on the duo’s approach by saying:
“Our show incorporates elements of improvisation, we are trying to be in the moment as much as possible. That’s enlightenment, that’s the real deal. If you can get your fluency/your vocabulary and your grammar into a place where you can just talk and just be that’s heaven you know. We rarely get moments of stillness in life. Having a performance space where you can still have stillness, patience and this moment of just being – this feels like something unique.”
Dan Whitehouse has, across seven solo albums, gained a golden reputation as “a fine songwriter, a unique vocal talent and a talented multi-instrumentalist/ performer” (Maverick) and for his “subtle and delicate melodies” (The Sunday Times). Nominated for the FATEA 2022 Innovation Award, Dan has become known for his drive to renew, re-invent and imagine, and the Ten Steps project see him push boundaries further, stepping into the arena of improvisation and spoken word.
Dan added:
“We are all interconnected. The best collaborations seek out differences. You have to look inwards to find fluency within and consistently look outside yourself. When Max plays it feels like the ground, or the sky, is opening up. I see things that weren’t there before. My perspective is changed. Ultimately I think that’s why we turn to art – be that a record, picture or a film – we yearn to get outside of our own heads and see the world from another’s perspective. This is what I hope Max ZT and I are bringing to you on this tour – a deep magnetic field.”
The TEN STEPS tour kicks off on 18th October, with details as follows:
Wed 18th October – Arc Theatre, Winchester
Thur 19th October – Music At The Unicorn, Abingdon
Sun 22nd October – Stables 2, Milton Keynes
Tue 24th October – The Pheasantry, Pizza Express, London
Wed 25th October – Ropetackle Arts, Shoreham
Thur 26th October – The Old Stables, Cricklade
Fri 27th October – Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Sat 28th October – The Stoller Hall, Manchester
“Extraordinary and beautiful” Folk Radio UK
“A compelling and innovative sound” ArtsCulture Mag
Tickets are available now HERE
