Vula Viel

Bex Burch's Vula Viel is a jazz group from London, playing music based on the sound of the gyil, a wooden xylophone from West Africa, fused with elements of electronica and minimal music.[1] The group was formed by Bex Burch, a musician from Yorkshire. Burch trained in percussion at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was introduced to the minimalist music of Steve Reich, and then spent three years with the Dagaaba people of the Upper West Region of Ghana. There she learned music and xylophone making as the apprentice of a master xylophonist Thomas Sekgura before returning to the United Kingdom and forming Vula Viel. The name Vula Viel was given to Burch on the completion of her apprenticeship, and means "Good is Good" in the Dagaaba language, Dagaare.[1][2]

Vula Viel
Vula Viel performing at the 2016 Songlines Festival
Background information
OriginLondon and Upper West Region of Ghana
GenresJazz, Ghanaian, electronica, minimal[1]
Years active2011 (2011)–present
LabelsIndependent
Websitebexburch.com
Members
  • Bex Burch (gyil)
  • Ruth Goller (bass)
  • Jim Hart (drums)
Past membersDan Nicholls
Dave De Rose
George Crowley
Simon Ross

Good Is Good (2015)

In October 2015 the group released their first album, Good is Good, which received plaudits from The Guardian,[3] the Financial Times,[4] the London Evening Standard,[5] Songlines,[6] and Jazzwise.[7] In November 2015 the band performed at the London Jazz Festival at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, leading The Guardian to describe them as "the unexpected stars of a glitzy show".[8] In April 2016 Iggy Pop played the band's music on BBC Radio 6, describing it as "Beautiful... dance to it, make love to it, consume it, listen to it, stare at the clouds to it.... That music deserves good reactions!"[9]

Do Not Be Afraid (2019)

In 2018 Burch reformed Vula Viel from the original five piece to a trio consisting of Burch, bassist Ruth Goller (Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down) and Jim Hart (Marius Neset Quintet, Velvet Revolution) on drums. The trio's first release was 2019's Do Not Be Afraid with guest artists Gwyneth Herbert and Rozie Gyems. While Good is Good consisted of reworkings of traditional Dagaare music, Do Not Be Afraid saw Burch composing new pieces based on Dagaare fundamentals.[10]

What's Not Enough About That (2020)

Vula Viel's next album What's Not Enough About That featuring Peter Zummo was released in 2020 just as COVID-19 was shutting down live music. Reviewing the live album launch, The Wire said "the music rolls and motors with irresistible momentum... there’s plenty enough about this."[11] Gilles Peterson selected What's Not Enough as one of his Albums of the week on his BBC Radio 6 Music show exclaiming, "Hang on this is really good" and inviting Vula Viel to perform live on his show 14 March 2020.[12] The album received further excellent reviews from Jazzlines,[13] Songlines,[14] Written in Music[15] and was selected as an Album of the Month by the Guardian.[16]

References
  1. Bex Burch (2015). "About". Vula Viel. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  2. "Vula Viel: Goodness, Guilt, and the Dagaare Music of Ghana". Pink Wafer. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  3. Fordham, John (19 November 2015). "Vula Viel: Good Is Good review – a soulful, danceable jazz hybrid". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. Honigman, David (31 October 2015). "Vula Viel: Good Is Good — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  5. Broughton, Simon (23 October 2015). "Vula Viel: Good is Good". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  6. Sinnock, Martin (16 October 2015). "Vula Viel: Good is Good". Songlines. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. Harris, Selwyn (9 October 2015). "Vula Viel: Good is Good". Jazzwise. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  8. Fordham, John (15 November 2015). "London jazz festival: James Farm/Vula Viel/AACM tribute review – celebrating togetherness". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  9. "News". Vula Viel. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  10. Cornwall, Jane (25 January 2019). "Jazz Reviews - Vula Viel". London Evening Standard. London.
  11. Francis Gooding (June 2020). "Vula Viel featuring Peter Zuummo". The Wire. Vol. 436.
  12. Giles Peterson (radio). BBC Radio 6 Music. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  13. Hasted, Nick (April 2020). "Vula Viel: What's Not Enough About That review". Jazzwise.
  14. Max Reinhart (May 2020). "Vula Viel: What's Not Enough About That review". Songlines.
  15. Hovenga, Dick (5 February 2020). "Vula Viel: What's Not Enough About That". Written In Music. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  16. Fordham, John (6 March 2020). "Album of the Month". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2020.


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