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Joanna MacGregor
First saw Nikki Yeoh two years ago at Bath Festival - I'd been tipped off
about her. She was 21. She had attitude. Serious + funky. Her reputation
went before her. Chatted very briefly.
Commissioned a piece for SoundCircus Manchester at Bridgewater Hall Nov
'97. Knew lovely Mike Mondesir already from Django's quartet, but working
with Keith LeBlanc for the first time. V. interested in how Nikki sang the
drum patterns she wanted to him! Great strutty pieces, and a large
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amount of improvisation to do - very little written down. Nikki fabulous to
improvise with - very chunky patterns, and we'd often find ourselves doing
similar things - she dubbed us sisters.
Difficult 9.30am soundcheck at Bridgewater - a large hall with a big
acoustic for amplified music. The BBC Philharmonic were beating at the door
for their rehearsal. I remember how difficult it is to be serious, to be
taken seriously in your early twenties, to try and get what you want.
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They all went off to sleep in the afternoon. I went to see 'Ma Vie en
Rose'. Performance scary. I think they're strong, good pieces. The drummer
is concerned about the half-second time delay and Nikki wants the sound
mixed in her monitor properly. I sometimes think that the people who run
large halls assume subtlety and complexity are for classical symphonies
only.
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Nikki Yeoh
There is a common language amongst all people and all artists, this is the
language of the spirit. God divided the spoken languages in order to
prevent destruction, but left the sweet bird songs and musical tones in
order for us to communicate. There is no boundary, be it 'trained' or
'self-taught', 'in' or 'out'. The only boundary is what you place between
your heart and the music.
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