The makers of the German concert film series “WeLive” have bid farewell to the year 2021 with a fascinating video. On New Year’s Eve, the Lahr Rockwerkstatt and the punchline studio released a video of the classical and electro trio Jukolika, formed especially for the film, which was produced with 15 cameras at the Parktheater Lahr. The German DJ Julian Maier-Hauff, jazz pianist Konrad Hinsken and the Ukrainian pianist Anzhelika Kovalenko impress with an electronic arrangement of the piece “Black Earth (Kara Toprak)” by the contemporary Turkish composer Fazil Say. The performance can now be admired on YouTube.
“It was a great experience to be in front of the camera with two such great electronic artists”, — says a delighted Anzhelika Kovalenko, who received her classical pianist education at the Mykola Lysenko National Academy in Lviv. Kovalenko, Maier-Hauff and Hinsken had rehearsed the performance especially for WeLive, which consists of a live remix of the piece and a piano solo arising from it.
In this way, the trio builds up a dense carpet of sound until the original “Black Earth” slowly and ever more noticeably emerges from the electronic-jazzy foundation created by Julian Maier-Hauff through improvisations by Konrad Hinsken, which Kovalenko presents with great passion on the piano as a solo performance. The fact that the film itself was shot in only one take makes the trio’s performance all the more remarkable. Without a net or double bottom, the ensemble plays itself into a frenzy and takes the audience on a journey into a world between classical and modern.
“The fact that, despite the pandemic, there is an initiative like WeLive that links completely different artists in such an elaborate film production was really a stroke of luck for us”, — Kovalenko expresses her gratitude and is at the same time pleased about the harmonious collaboration with Maier-Hauff and Hinsken. No wonder, then, that the trio Jukolika is already planning new projects.
In 2022, the artists would like to bring the programme “Debussy—Sound Trip” to the stage. “The work for WeLive with the fusion of classical and electro inspired us to do this,” says Anzhelika Kovalenko. Now the musicians are hoping that the normal concert schedule can finally start again. Until then, all concertgoers can watch the trio’s first performance as a video on the WeLive YouTube channel.
Infobox WeLive:
The cultural initiative “WeLive” from Germany was founded in 2020 by the non-profit association Lahrer Rockwerkstatt e.V., the media production company punchline studio and the Schlachthof Jugend&Kultur Lahr. The concert film series presents musicians of various genres in elaborate concert films in front of ten to 15 cameras. The productions take place in changing locations throughout Germany. The brothers Pirmin and Maik Styrnol from punchline studio are the directors. The WeLive makers have already received the German Rock&Pop Award and the Alternative Media Award for their cultural support in Corona times.