OLD WORLD RHYTHMS
Inspired by Arabic and gypsy beats, Ottoman Slap’s music has a rough, wild edge to it, writes TERRI DUNBAR-CURRAN
THE fact that none of the Ottoman Slap band members grew up in the cultures that their music is inspired by means that it’s been a “slow growing process”, says musician James van Minnen. Ottoman Slap has recently released their debut album, Idiomatic. “This album is the closest thing to arriving at a benchmark of what our sound actually is.” Their music is rooted in gypsy, Middle Eastern and Balkan sounds and rhythms. Van Minnen plays mandolin, percussion and a hybrid drum kit.
He is joined by Raoul Spiegel on saxophone, hulusi and saw; Doug Armstrong on trumpet; Simoné Chiara on lead vocals, guitar and percussion; Marissa Cuenoud van Minnen on accordion and percussion; and Callan Wolff on double bass. “Each band member has a love for eclectic music,” says Van Minnen, explaining that informs the musical vision of the band. “Each person has a different sliver of the same pie.”
Spiegel agrees: “Everyone has come with their own flavour. It’s not just traditional, it draws on the things we love.”
Van Minnen explains that there is definitely no formula on
Idiomatic, that each track is different to the rest.
“We play the traditional songs, but we add new vocal melodies and develop them into something that’s our own,” says Spiegel. “When it comes to the original stuff, we’ll arrive with a melody and then develop it into something full.”
Van Minnen says he has always been interested in Middle Eastern music. “Then I met Marissa, and she hired me to play percussion for her belly dancing company. We realised we had many dreams in common in terms of creative goals.”
Spiegel was the first musician Van Minnen contacted when the idea for Ottoman Slap began to develop, following on from a conversation they had had about klezmer music.
“I’ve worked with a lot of musicians as a drummer, playing more conventional styles. This project has been very much a love child,” says Van Minnen. “I appeal to perhaps the minority out there. Apart from the artistic side, I feel fortunate to be in a band where there’s a strong personal connection, and people feel free to try new things all the time.”
Spiegel adds that they’ve all been fortunate enough to find themselves doing things that have pushed them out of their comfort zones.
Idiomatic developed organically and at a certain point the band pushed hard towards getting it ready to record. “It was ripe for the picking,” he says.
“A lot of the bands I’ve played in outside this, the singer songwriter had authorship of the songs, or they were just learning covers. This is a creative democracy, it makes it really pleasant,” says Van Minnen. While writing the songs and working on the album, the band continually questioned whether they were heading in the right direction, and whether they should be pushing it more. “We realised that traditional music isn’t pop, it likes to have a rough edge to it, to have a slightly wild nature.”
Van Minnen sees their writing process as a different way of sampling music. “A lot of what happens is we’re inspired by different approaches to writing music and the feelings in music.”
Chiara hadn’t performed as a vocalist before and Spanish isn’t her first language, but Van Minnen says her role is about expressing something “very raw and very real” for her. “And I approached Callan and asked if he would be interested in playing this kind of music. He had never played the double bass before, so I gave him one.”
Ottoman Slap was awarded a Standard Bank Ovation Award at this year’s National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. “When I got the call I actually squealed into the phone,” laughs Van Minnen. “Never have I ever received an accolade I’ve given a damn about. It means a huge amount to me because this band means a huge amount to me.”
Intimacy and humour play important roles in their live shows, they like to be close to their audience. “We do plan a setlist, but because our show comprises a range of quite sultry, intense music, right through to fun music you can jump at with gay abandon, in between songs we try to read the audience,” says Van Minnen.
A large part of their live performances is the belly dance and visual component of the shows. “We like to mix media, and in that way we create an experience for the audience, not only bringing something original musically to the shows,” says Van Minnen.
“We like to create living art forms, things that are tangible,” agrees Spiegel, adding that even something as simple as lighting can entrance an audience.
They have an “olde world” approach to how they engineer their shows, from the music to the props and mechanics. “The instruments, places and times we draw our inspiration from are a quiet shadow of the world we live in now,” says Van Minnen, explaining that many rhythms used in contemporary music today are actually traditional rhythms that originated in the Middle East. “We’re inspired by the roots of the world we live in today.” And the band likes to share that connection to the past with their audiences. “We like to emphasise those lines through history – the origins of the rhythms we play,” says Spiegel.
Ottoman Slap will perform at The Annex in Kalk Bay on Saturday, at Villa Pascal in Durbanville on September 25, at the 50 Years Sustained Ability Concert at Camphill Village on the West Coast on October 31, and as part of the Christ Church Constantia Series on December 6. www.ottomanslap.co.za