OTTO

OTTO creates music that is minimalist in vocabulary but intense in energy. The three musicians all play the same instrument: the tapan, a Balkan drum producing just two skin tones. They also incorporate metallic percussion such as a gong and bronze plate. The group’s artistic focus is to develop musical ideas using a very limited sonic palette, where structure relies heavily on timing and the intricate interweaving of the three instruments.

The performance consists of two interconnected parts, blending fixed sections with fully improvised passages. It opens with a slow build on a traditional Bulgarian seven-beat rhythm, where subtle shifts between the tapans reveal increasingly complex polyrhythms. The hypnotic repetition of the cycle generates variations in timbre, rhythm, and color, which can change dramatically depending on the space.

This gradual ascent culminates in a fleeting unison, releasing the built-up tension, before the powerful, round, and creaking tone of the gong takes over.
A long improvisation follows, combining two tapans and gong in a performance that is as mechanical as it is jagged and raw.