about
Witch ‘n’ Monk is the duo of Colombian rebel flautist Mauricio Velasierra and British soprano and guitarist Heidi Heidelberg. Pulling together a diverse range of instrumentation; traditional Latin American flutes, unconventional vocals, electric guitar and bespoke electronics, they create a sound that is defiantly their own. The duo have forged an uncompromising, new musical language of composition and improvisation that travels fluidly between forms. Radically manipulated flutes, anarchic soprano vocals and analogue electronics mix with a jazz-punk guitar/bass hybrid.
The essence of their collaboration is encapsulated in the name; dark and light, feminine and masculine, punk and romantic, free-form and intricately composed. Exploring extremes and creating contrast is fundamental to their work. Treading upon the edges of genre – Witch ‘n’ Monk are equally as celebrated in the jazz and contemporary classical spheres as well as DIY and underground circles.
Their latest album – 2020’s ‘Witch ’n’ Monk’ – was released by John Zorn’s label Tzadik Records and named ‘Contemporary Album of the Month’ by The Guardian and was awarded the German Critics Award in the crossover category.
members
videos
Electro-acoustic hybrid flutes - Mauricio Velasierra
Vocals & guitar - Heidi Heidelberg
PRESS
"Shamanic and unearthly, they make a mockery of genre – thrashy guitar riffs are overlaid with Amazonian panpipe melodies and flashes of Bollywood strings; multi-tracked choirs are digitally mutilated…Reich-ish minimalism mutates into ecstatic samba."
- The Guardian ****
Contemporary Album of the Month
Click photo to download (credit: Annemarie Sterian)
"Hard to imagine that voice, guitar and flute could groove so hard and deliver so much...There’s nothing else around quite like Witch ‘n’ Monk. It goes further than just genre-dodging, however. There’s real depth, emotional and spiritual heft to these songs. They could hardly be more of the moment.”
- The Wire
Click photo to download (credit: Camille Blake)
“Wow! These guys are certainly going somewhere fast! ... Pure anarchic chamber chaos”
- BBC R3 Late Junction
"An unmistakable sound-world of their own, but in many ways, their own genre. Andean punk opera? Existentialist hip-hop?...The echoes span John Lydon to Thomas Ades"
- The Arts Desk *****
Click photo to download (credit: Camille Blake)
Witch ’n’ Monk is an album that has enough hooklines and cool beats to feed two bands on two records and yet speaks to us clearly and distinctly. We cheer together with John Zorn: no piece here sounds like at the beginning at the end.”
- Musikexpress Magaine *****
Blending Latin American flutes, electronics, complex vocal lines with a touch of Frank Zappa lyricism and a radical aesthetic, the duo of Heidi Heidelberg and Mauricio Velasierra crafts a dramatically bizarre vocal music from another dimension! ...Dreamlike improvisations are sampled, manipulated and reinvented through the lens of contemporary music and pop. You have never heard anything quite like Witch ’n’ Monk!"
- John Zorn
Click photo to download (credit: Annemarie Sterian)
music
witch 'n' monk [tzadik 2020]
notable
performances
Bimhuis (NL)
La Cigale (FR)
Dunkers Kulturhus (SE)
Umea Jazz Festival (SE)
TivoliVredenburg (NL)
Berlin Jazzfest (DE)
London Jazz Festival (UK)
Manchester Jazz Festival (UK)
Tallinn Music Week (EE)
InJazz Festival (NL)
music
awards
Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
Grenzgänger (Crossover)
contact
Booking
music[at]witchnmonk.com
Benelux (NL, BE, LU): linda[at]stroom.ws
Other info
music[at]witchnmonk.com