Carte Blanche

Tomorrow Tribal' stands for playing, for risk, for immediacy - and at the same time for maximum precision. Lucas Niggli's commissioned work for the Tomorrow Tribal Quartet, which includes himself on drums as well as Brian Archinal (no-input mixer, vibraphone, megaphone, percussion), Gilles Grimaître (piano, Korg organ) and Sascha Armbruster (soprano saxophone, tubax), is based on a set of 16 playing cards that dictate the dramaturgy of the music. Each card depicts a specific musical motif, inspired by the four musicians playing together and by unique expressions in different, sometimes obscure, languages. Lagom" (Swedish for "not too much and not too little, just right"), "Ukiyo" (Japanese for "living in the moment") or "Kephaloporosis" (ancient Greek for a usually temporary state of mental confusion after intense stress) head the motif cards; these are terms that have no literal translation - they are as unique as the four musicians' musical languages. Each member of the quartet has all 16 cards and can play each one once. There is a playing table in the middle of the Boiler Room. When a new card is played, the other musicians can decide whether to jump straight to the new motif, 'morph' from the old to the new, or not react at all. The piece thrives on spontaneous, intuitive musical action, so every performance will be unique. Only the groovy, melodic final canon, which the quartet will enter just before the end of the 45-minute performance, has been composed. Tomorrow Tribal will be an explosive and playful musical frenzy, full of surprises - and the odd joker will be thrown in for good measure.