Search - Stephen Kent :: Oil & Water

Didgeridoo or didjeridu. Whatever the spelling of this strange instrument may be, it is usually associated with the indigenous people of the fifth continent, the Austra-lian Aborigines. But there is also a Californian by the name of Stephen Kent who was born in England and grew up in East Africa among other countries. Twenty years ago he learned to play the didjeridu in Australia and has since concentrated on this fascinating archaic wind instrument for his musical projects. This instrument has mainly been used by the Australian Aborigines for ritual occasions for about 1,500 years. In most cases, it is made of eucalyptus wood, sometimes even of bam-boo. For Stephen Kent, playing the didjeridu has always been the ideal way of expressing the manifold musical experiences he has gathered all around the world (for exam-ple, with the ensemble Trance Mission). The album 'Oil and Water' means for Stephen Kent the beginning of a new creative period. For the first time he worked with electronic beats and loops. His musical horizons include music from the Middle East and North Africa to Rajasthan; he has even used a Scottish bagpipe. The recordings for the CD started on 9 September 2001. With regard to the events on 11 September, it was important to Stephen Kent to devote a special place on the CD 'Oil and Water' to Yassir Chadly, the imam from the mosque in Oakland, California who comes originally from Marocco. 'Oil and Water' there is hardly any other title that could better express Stephen Kent's intention to bring harmony into a world of inner turmoil and conflict. With fascinating soundscapes, driving grooves, sophisticated electronic ar-rangements and a gripping varied dramaturgy, Stephen Kent and his comrades in particular Simon Tassano who co-produced the album set new standards in the field of world ambient groove. World music, more than just groove, more than just ambient. And yet something from everything. With 'Oil and Water', Intuition, the label for ambitious musical cross-boundary musicians, has resumed releasing regularly after a long pause owing to removal.