Mimika Orchestra plus White Flower

About Mimika Orchestra

Mimika Orchestra was founded in London in 2010 by the Croatian composer and saxophonist Mak Murtic. It has been dubbed as one of London’s most creative, trans-idiomatic orchestras, taking audiences on an adventurous journey to where jazz collides with other musical genres and art forms, telling anthropological, cultural and mythological stories of the future and the past.

 

About the current Album / Music Project (Listen to the single Forgiveness Day)

 

The Album titled Divinities of the Earth and the Waters consists of 8 lenghty compositions, featuring members of the Orchestra (Vocals, Brass, Woodwinds doubling on Clarinets and Flutes, Rhythm Section, Live Electronics) as well as guests playing authentic folk instruments (Lyra, Tambura).

Narrative-wise, Divinities of the Earth and the Waters follows a psychedelic plot set on an imagined ancient Slavic festival in the preindustrial Balkans, aesthetically reminiscent of the late Sergei Parajanov.

Dealing with the human condition, love, loss, myth and struggle, it’s exposing the protagonist’s life through his reality and imagined perception, from folk festivals in young adulthood to his own funeral ceremony.

Musically, it is an album full of orchestral twists, complex arrangements, lyrics in the old Kajkavian dialect, odd measures, heavy grooves, solos, free improvisations.

Notable Performances / Commissions

Mimika played at the London Jazz Festivals 2012/14/15, Love Supreme Jazz Festival 2014 (Winners of the Jazz FM Discovery Competition), Latitude Festival, Olympic & Paralympic Festivals, and renowned London venues such as The Vortex Jazz Club, RichMix, Bussey Building, The Forge, Union Chapel, Courtyard Theatre, and is hosting a monthly residency at the Spice of Life in Soho. The Orchestra has been featured on BBC Radio, Jazz FM, major European Radio Stations via the European Broadcasting Union and HR3 – Croatian national radio dedicated to culture, jazz & classical music.

Releases / Discography

 

– From Scratch to Structure (World Music Records, London, 2012) – performed by Mimika, composed by Mak Murtic

– A Place Glowing a Brilliant Red (World Music Records, London, 2015) – performed by Mimika, composed by Mak Murtic

– Antarctica and Other Destinations (World Music Records, London, 2015) – performed by the Croatian Radio Television Jazz Orchestra feat. Maja Rivic & Anabela Baric, composed by Mak Murtic.

PERSONELL

Mak Murtić – MD, composer, conductor
Maja Rivić – vocals
Sylvia Schmidt – vocals
Andy Hall – trumpet, flugelhorn
Sam Warner – trumpet, flugelhorn
Rosie Turton – trombone
Hannah Dilkes – trombone
Ben Kelly – sousaphone
Andrew Linham – clarinet
John Macnaughton – alto sax / clarinet
Andrew Liddell – alto sax / sop sax / flute
Rob Milne – tenor sax / bass clarinet / clarinet / flute
Daniel Woodfield – tenor sax
Seb Silas – baritone sax
Leon Røsten – piano, keyboard, el.guitar
Jamie Benzies – el.bass
Harry Pope – drums
Tom Atherton – percussion
Tile Gichigi Lipere – live electronics

for more info please visit mimikaorchestra.com or email: mimika.orchestra@gmail.com.

OTHER LINKS

Mimika – Divinities of the Earth and the Waters – Forgiveness Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9tn3j9ET2M

White Flower is a recently formed trio featuring Sylvia Schmidt on vocals, Will Newell on violin and Seb Silas on soprano saxophone. The trio explores the ensemble potential of combining three voices that are mostly presented as soloists. The music features poetry and music written by the members, with emphasis on simplicity, and also improvisations that segue and join ideas and themes. Melodies are derived from simple tonal ideas and folk music.