SASCHA LEY & LAURENT PAYFERT explore the subtle art of combining vocals and double bass. The Luxembourg-based vocalist, improviser, actress and poet and her congenial fellow musician from France open the doors to a special kind of sound journey that blends free improvisation, written and instant compositions and familiar sonorities. Surreal and suggestive soundscapes, experiments, sound painting, the use of extended vocal and instrumental techniques as well as storytelling take the audience to an always surprising, inviting and spirited experience off the beaten track.

SASCHA LEY combines an acting and music career. The multi-language vocalist, composer, actress and poet likes walking along unconventional paths in her musical output embracing free and jazz improvisation, imaginary folklore, contemporary music and reaching out for extended vocal techniques. Sascha studied in Amsterdam, Bombay, Luxembourg and Saarbrücken, and is a passionate traveller which frequently reflects in her desire for adventurous ventures in her artistic undertakings. In parallel with music, drama and film works, she has devoted herself in recent years increasingly to composing and writing, creating and directing interdisciplinary performances.   

www.saschaley.com

LAURENT PAYFERT, French double bass player and composer, has been trained in classical music at the Conservatoire de Metz (F). Playing as a bassist in rock and funk bands, he got into jazz and improvised music by the end of the 1980ies, stylistically influenced by encounters with Hein Van De Geyn, Ricardo Del Fra and Steve Lacy among others. Besides the duo and his "Laurent Payfert Quartet", he performs as a sideman in various ensembles (e.g. Jeff Herr Corporation) and collaborates with stage artists and sculptors.      

www.laurentpayfert.com

PERSONAL NOTE

Our improvised music is a spontaneous invention shared with a responding audience. It is lifelike; you work instantly with all your senses, your thoughts and awareness, inventing sounds that lead you to new shores. You keep discovering and composing on the spot without any safety net. Sometimes the sound actually creates you, the being, the musician, the listener, the Self. Surprise, shock, revelation, jubilation – you name it.

Within our duo project we have developed a dialogue of a very special kind. According to the ambiance of the moment and the feel of the audience we leave an important space to instant compositions merging with the songs that our audience will easily recognize as familiar, as we love to play around the harmonious understanding of music, of groove and beauty.

However, the wild and boundless world of sounds keeps inspiring us time and time again to go for the complete adventure, exploring the beauty of music on untrodden paths.