In this thursday night live House of Hearts #edition we will have the chance to experience Abuja, Nigeria based artist Ihu Anyanwu, who might give us insights in the happenings, sounds and Festivals in Lagos, Abuja and thereabout as well as into her music, Olivier Temime will give us sounds of his hard-bop saxophone live from Paris, British-Libanese artist Sophie Naufal will invite us to listen to new Songs and filmmaker, curator, writer & charity organiser Andrew Standen-Raz will talk about his humanitarian work and filmfestival, shooting for movie platforms in Marocco and much more…
G.RIZO
G.rizo (nee Ihu Anyanwu) is an electronic musician, DJ and cultural organizer based in Abuja, Nigeria. She has been involved in the underground art and electronic music scene since 2001, a journey that started in New York City and thrived for many years in Vienna. In 2010 she started releasing music on her own label imprint Hezekina Pollutina Records.
Specializing in pop and funk-based dance music, G.rizo has a versatile range with almost two decades of musical excursions in electro, disco, techno and house. With an eclectic palate, and an asymmetric interpretation of dance music, G.rizo, as put by Negative.ch, “provides dance music for sophisticated minds.”
Haven released singles for a decade as a vocalist (on labels such as Codek Records, Gigolo Records, Citinite) and featured on releases by super talented producers (In Flagranti, Patrick Pulsinger, Alexander Robotik, Donovans, Maximilian Skiba, Dubblestandart, Disco Doubles, Gerhard Potuznik, and I-Wolf), the release of her self-released “Active Methods EP” in 2014, with its single “Its Happening” (which Spex Magazine described as “80’s mythical futurism”), gave a hint at G.rizo’s potential as a producer and song writer.
Live shows are where G.rizo shines – exuding pure visceral energy, and getting sullied up by good old sweat and raw emotion. She will go from crooning to rapping in a minute, veering through different funk-based prisms. During the last few years, her live show has progressed to include more live playing specifically keyboards, controllers and effects. Notable live gigs include: Hugo Boss (Fashion Week Beijing), Radio Soul Wax Tour 07 (Switzerland, Scotland), Die Registratur (Munich), Rio, Panorama Bar (Berlin), Salon Des Artistes (Dusseldorf), Paris-Paris, Nouveau Casino, Triptyque/Les Chiennes Hi-Fi (Paris), Popfest, Celeste, Icke Micke, Flex, Prater Sauna, Grelle Forelle, Wir Sind Wien (Vienna), Spring Fest (Graz), Afrofuturisms Festival @ Stadtwerkstadt (Linz), Dachkantine, Zukunft (Zurich), Scenic, Nublu, Santos Party House (NYC), African Crossroads (Mombasa) and Jake’s Club (Abuja). Since relocating to Abuja, G.rizo has been actively building up a local electronic music and creative scene with like-minded local DJs, electronic musicians and locations. In 2018, she launched “House x House x House,” a house music party in a private residence. Notably she has DJ’d at Jake’s Club, Quo, Bush Bar Sessions (Abuja); Pop Beach, The Backyard, Lagos Biennale, Lagos Photo Festival, La Taverna (Lagos).
In addition to music, G.rizo is an active artist and cultural organizer. In November 2018, G.rizo participated in „Lagos Drawings“ – an interactive art piece (displayed at Art x Lagos, a contemporary art fair in Lagos) providing sound art to figurative drawings by the Nigerian visual artist, Karo Akpokiere.
In January 2019, G.rizo founded the “Naija Tech Creatives,” a Nigeria-based Art+Tech community. Comprising of creative people and technologists of various backgrounds, the group focuses on the intersection between art and technology, new media and digital art forms. In November 2019, she launched the maiden edition of “Abuja Art Week,” 5 days of curated exhibitions, talks, workshops, screenings and music events at various locations across the city.
OLIVIER TEMIME
At the age of fourteen, he studied music with a private teacher, then with Philippe Renault at the Marseille Conservatory where he won the gold medal in the jazz class.
Winner of the Jazz Futur 90 contest sponsored by Dee Dee Bridgewater and soloist prize at the tremplin de la Défense 97, he imposed himself through festivals (Marciac, Calvi, Antibes, Montreux…). ), jam sessions and meetings (Johnny Griffin, Wynton Marsalis, Jon and Michèle Hendricks, Steve Grossman, Daniel Humair, Emmanuel Bex, Laurent de Wilde, the Belmondo, Jean Loup Longnon, Eric Le Lann, etc…), as one of the most lively improvisers on the European scene.
Most often on tenor, he performs in the 2000s surrounded by his „Volunteered Slaves“ (a nod to Roland Kirk) of varying dimensions and personalities, without giving up his bohemian appetites.
Although he doesn’t deny the Coltranian legacy, he imposes himself on the tenor as an heir to the hard bop blowers, which he extends and updates with an ever cantabile verve of bristling, tears and paroxysms that owe as much to Free as to the saxes of rhythm and blues.
Philippe Carles, in the „New Dictionary of Jazz“.
Andrew is a filmmaker, curator, writer & charity organiser based in London. He has filmed musicians in Austria, China, and Morocco, where he directed an episode for the Netflix series We Speak Dance. His journalistic writing over five years reflects his charity work – covering a variety of topics from an essentially humanitarian perspective.
During the Corona crisis, Andrew provided urgent food support in London, working with the international charity the Community of Sant’Egidio. He combined his curator and charity sides to found a new humanitarian film festival in London, in cooperation with l’Institut Français & the RBKC Refugees Welcome Committee, presenting UK premieres of Ai Wei Wei’s The Rest, Midnight Traveler, A Girl From Mogadishu & the 60th anniversary of Chronique d’un Été (July 2020).
SOPHIE NAUFAL
Sophie Naufal is a British-Lebanese musician based in London. Her performances are raw and hypnotic, drawing the audience in and taking them on a journey through an intense and changing emotional world.
Her intimate compositions mirror the chaos and complexity of contemporary life. Sophie explores political, personal and existential upheaval with an unflinching eye, her haunting vocals and dissonant guitar juxtaposed by her signature dark humour.
