ENSEMBLE OFFSPRING
STORIES OF WATER & EARTH
Stories of Water and Earth features Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson alongside a quartet of Ensemble Offspring’s genre bending instrumentalists, weaving together instrumental chamber music, long term collaboration, dreaming stories and reimagined times.
Please direct all enquiries to admin@ensembleoffspring.com
Watch and Listen
Critical Acclaim
“A testament to genuine collaboration that honours the land and the language it came from. You could feel the weight of Country in the room, and the careful tension of artists unlearning, relearning, and reshaping.”
“From each and every performer, joy radiated from their eyes, their smiles, their hearts”
“Simpson is as gripping a storyteller as she is a vocalist. Her prowess as a writer bubbles up through the fluidity of her language, and she shines as a performer here too. She’s so engaging here, sharing these stories, which unfold even further with the music that follows them.”
“Last night I attended the ‘Stories of Water and Earth’ at the Darwin Festival. I was blown away. I just wanted to let you know how profoundly moved I was. The most sensitive exhibition of indigenous talent and situation, backed by creative, experimental and professionally performed music.”
“Nardi Simpson is one of our greatest national treasures and if you haven’t seen her perform you are doing yourself a disservice. Freshwater Woman is no exception to the very highest calibre of musical expression we have come to experience with Nardi at the helm.”
“A truly unique and heart-warming evening of language, poetry, music, beauty and breath. Every audience member was invested. I saw tears, laughter, gasps, cries of joy and cheers to conclude the evening – a testament to the power of … women whose practice is informed by their ancestors, inspired by the strength of Country and held in the dreaming.”
“Noble brings out the harmonics on a growling bass clarinet, and Edwardes (who also performs on a hanging shell mobile) nails some vocal harmonies from behind the vibraphone. Véronique Serret is such a wonderfully expressive player; every small violin lick is given rich colour and a virtuosic spin.”