Barcelona in the Round IV: Tori Sparks, Ramon Aragall + Sabina Witt

×

Expand

Barcelona In the Round IV. Designed by Tori Sparks. Photo of Tori by Begonya Pe. Photo of Ramon by Pati M. Photo of Sabina © Sabina Witt.

Get ready for a very special live music experience. American singer-songwriter Tori Sparks brings Nashville to Barcelona, with a concert "in the round" in one of the city’s most beloved listening rooms, Heliogàbal. (Tickets are 6€ in advance on Notikumi.com, 8€ at the door.)

In this format of concert -- typical of Music City, but new to Barcelona -- three singer-songwriters take the stage together and trade off performing their original songs in an acoustic format. (Each turn is a “round.”) It’s the most stripped-down, exposed, basic format possible for an artist to showcase his/her music: alone with his/her instrument and voice.

Sometimes the performers are friends and collaborators, sometimes they’re strangers, meeting onstage for the first time. Spontaneous collaborations, audience participation, the story behind the song, premieres of brand-new tunes... in these concerts, anything can happen. Don’t miss an opportunity to hear to your favorite artists share their music in an intimate setting, and at the same time discover other talented musicians.

MEET THE PERFORMERS

TORI SPARKS (Rock/Blues/Flamenco Fusion)

Singer Tori Sparks was born in Chicago, the home of the Blues, and then went on to live and record in Country music capital Nashville. Since the age of 18, she has played an average of 150-200 concerts per year in more than 20 countries. Alone or with a band, Tori is a force of nature on stage: She walks the line between the heart wrenching and hilarious, combining ironic humor with an emotional performance and an energy that knows no limits.

In 2011, Tori Sparks moved from Nashville to Barcelona, and in just a few years has left her mark on her adopted country. Her last three albums El Mar (2014), La Huerta (2017) and the new live double album Wait No More (2019), have turned into an unexpected international success, largely in part due to the distinctly fresh sound she and her Barcelona-based musical collaborators have crafted onstage in the studio.

Called "adventurous, always pushing the envelope" by Rolling Stone and "pure art" by Los Conciertos de Radio3, Tori is an artist on the rise. She will present a selection of songs from her seven albums and possibly some new material in BCN ITR IV.

RAMON ARAGALL (POP/ROCK/INDIE)

Ramon Aragall was born in Barcelona, into a family in which everything revolved around the work of his father, the great tenor Jaume Aragall. Ramon studied singing with his dad, piano with Joan Pau Chavez, drums with Ramón Ángel, and music theory at the renowned school Taller de Músics. With that CV, he could have easily forged a path in the world of classical music; instead, Ramon was captivated by the electric energy of rock and pop. Since the age of 13 he has formed a part of different musical projects, either as a singer, keyboardist, and drummer, including Els Amics de les Arts, Dorian, Pantaleo, 4 Hiverns, Outerspace, and Indigos.

In 2015, the world discovered a previously unknown facet of the musician and composer when he released his first solo album of original material, titled Perfil. He worked to promote his own project while simultaneously touring as a drummer for his other bands. As music magazine Enderrock said, "behind the cymbals hides a great voice.” Perfil was “an inspiring debut,” according to national newspaper La Vanguardia.

Ramon’s most recent album, Kamikaze, was released 2018. It is a collection of luminous melodies and sometimes harsh tales, as narrated by a delicate and worldly voice. At the BCN ITR IV concert, he will present tunes from Kamikaze acoustic format for the first time.

SABINA WITT (JAZZ/FOLK)

The talent of the Catalan singer and songwriter Sabina Witt has been recognized many times over. She has received awards from la Fira de Vila-Seca, el Acoustic Music Competition of Garcilaso, and the AIE Jazz Scholarship by Tete Montoliu. She has taken master classes and seminars with outstanding national and international artists such as Abe Rabade, Pat Metheny, Chucho Valdés, and Dave Holland.

Sabina’s theatrical collaborations are numerous: among them is El meu avi no va anar a Cuba by Victoria Szpunberg, which was premiered at the Grec Festival and La Cuarta Pared of Madrid; and has recorded five albums, beginning in 2005 with her solo record Lejos de Donde?. She has performed as a soloist in numerous jazz halls, clubs and festivals such as the Seville Jazz Festival, the Barnasants Festival, and the Getxo Jazz Festival, and well as on tour in Japan, Argentina and Finland. Sabina is also a voice professor at the Taller de Musics and ESM Jam Session.

Her honeyed but powerful voice, with a flexibility and sensitivity honed by years studying jazz and other styles of music, will capture your heart. In BCN ITR IV, she will present a selection of her original songs in an acoustic format.