Merope

(Lithuania)

Merope
Merope by Visvaldas Morkevicius
Merope by Visvaldas Morkevicius

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Merope take traditional Lithuanian melodies and weave them into their original compositions, creating shifting textures through improvisational interplay, inspired by the natural world and dreams.
The nucleus of the band is a trio comprising Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, from Lithuania, playing the box zither known as kanklės, Jean Christophe Bonnafous from France on the Indian bansuri bamboo flute and Belgian guitarist and sound manipulator, Bert Cools. They met when studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory, beginning a journey that has taken them around the world, playing and learning through Europe and India, to China and Mexico, assimilating and incorporating new musical encounters into their singular sound.
Their third album, Naktes, channelling the moods of the night and recorded in small rooms and open spaces, picked up Best World Music prize at this year’s Belgian Klara Awards. Unworldly world music.

Indre Jurgelevičiūtė - vocals, kanklės (Baltic psaltery)
Bert Cools - guitar, electronics
Jean Christophe Bonnafous - bansuri