FAYA

Here we are – Trio FAYA – launching our first Crowdfunding Campaign:

https://www.startnext.com/en/faya-ep-videoclip

We are Kristina Van de Sand (violin, voice and percussion, from Germany), Elena La Conte (flute, voice and percussion, from Italy) and Mili Vizcaíno (voice, guitar, percussion, Spain). We met a few years ago in Lisbon and have played on many stages between Germany and Portugal, each of us broadening our own horizons through this beautiful sisterhood. We have lived through difficult and funny phases – a great adventure, a dive into an uncertain but hopeful future. Our next goal is to create promotional material of our musical collaboration: the recording and release of our first EP – a collection of original compositions and traditional songs in various languages. We are planning to accompany it with an eco-friendly leporello booklet, adorned with beautiful illustrations, by artists that inspire us. Furthermore, while we’re at it, we want to realize also our first music video, featuring animated visuals for one of our original compositions. You can choose between different ways to support us and you will receive your recompensation as soon as we have realized the objective. We express our gratitude for your support, making you an integral part of our project, which truly needs a boost to thrive. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, with hopes for PEACE in 2024!

FAYA – In English, this word evokes fire, heat and power. In Portuguese, the “faia” is the beech tree, and in the Ligurian tradition it stands for a mystical figure, a fairy of the forest. The FAYA trio combines these associations between female energy, earthiness and ephemere magic in their compositions and a fascinating stage show. The three musicians Elena, Mili and Kristina originally come from Italy, Spain and Germany, but met in Lisbon and founded the FAYA trio. Violin, flute, guitar, percussion and three-part vocals – the FAYA trio has found its very own sound. In this meeting of strings, wind instruments and vocals, they discover their joy in merging different world music styles with their own musical influences. Their concerts are journeys through different universes, inspired by traditional styles such as Venezuelan polo, classical Indian music or the Italian tarantella. The audience is taken on a musical journey of discovery – to the obvious delight of all involved. Whether the songs celebrate life, are politically activist or longingly trace an old love, the basic tone of the trio always remains hopeful. Because FAYA makes music that aims to connect people and to make them curious about the world with its wonderful diversity

In September 2019, FAYA were honored as WINNER OF THE CREOLE WORLD MUSIC AWARD in Berlin: “This band showed a varied playing style, high musicality, original instrumentation, beautiful communication with the audience, lively performance and great joy of playing.”

Since September ’22 the Band is collaborating with the Booking Agency Hauptmann Entertainment (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)

https://www.hauptmannentertainment.com/

NEWS

NEXT CONCERTS:

TOUR MARCH ’24:

8/3 Harburg Fischhalle | 20h00

9/3 Bordesholm Savoy | 20h30

10/3 Bremen Torhaus Nord | 18h00

12/3 Hamburg – Workshop Schule Tegelweg

13/3 Hannover Hauskonzert im Horst | 18h30

14/3 Paderborn Deelenhaus | 19h30

15/3 Frankfurt a. m. Begegnungszentrum Fechenheim | 19h30

16/3 Achern Bürgersaal | 20h00

17/3 Dreieich Bürgerhäuser | 20h00

MEDIA

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FAYA’s first steps, in collaboration with CHIARA PELLEGRINI

PRESS REVIEWS

“Elegant sounds alternate with wild percussion, oriental influences merge with French chanson – pure joie de vivre!“

Göttinger Tageblatt (Göttinger Kultursommer)

“…a musical program that is hard to beat in terms of variety. Wonderful! Relaxed in the here and now, a great afternoon comes to an end after the audience has thanked us long and hard. Once again, Europe has shown itself from its most beautiful side. If only there were more such opportunities like this.”

Kulturmagazin O-Ton (Niederrhein Musikfestival)

Europa von seiner schönsten Seite

PROGRAMS

Music for Young Audiences

The three musicians Elena, Mili and Kristina are also pedagogues and work in other music education projects for children from the age of 1. Here is a selection of programs for young audiences:

O CANTO DA BALEIA

An Aquatic Audiovisual Adventure for Young Audiences age 2+

The three musicians are members of the collective Mosaico (https://mosaicollective.com/). The collective’s research is based on sustainability topics, and a poetical, interdisciplinary approach to performing for a multi-generational audience. Elena, Mili and Kristina are performers in the audiovisual concert O Canto da Baleia– The Song of the Whale.

With the blue whale, protagonist of our aquatic spectacle, we dive deep into the ocean. We meet the marine inhabitants: fishes, medusae, seaweed and other strange sea creatures. Curious, the whale dives deeper and deeper, until it touches the ocean ground, full of trash – too toxic for the marine animals! The mermaid gets tangled in a lost fishing net and expresses her anger with a furious dance. In search of clean water, the whale appears again on the surface when a big storm is coming up … With three musicians and beautiful visual arts on the overhead projector, we tell this little story about the adventures of a whale. We listen to the wind and the waves and watch the dancing mermaids and singing jellyfish. The water becomes the central artistic material on the overhead projector and the musicians transform into strange shadow beings in the ocean depths. In interactive moments with the young audience we make a “garbage batucada” and experience the sensation of storm. On the musical principle of “Call & Response” we provide song texts and rhythms so that our audience can actively participate in the show.

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SUM-BÁ: THE FAYA CUSHION CONCERT

A musical manifestation for a multigenerational audience (age 1 +)

In the series Cushion Concerts, the trio FAYA leads its small (and grown-up) audience through a musical program about nature and sustainability, creating an interactive artistic approach to the current issue of climate change. Accompanied by the musicians’ three voices, violin, flute, guitar and many other instruments, babies, children and their relatives immerse in the magical world of music. In the program SUM-BÁ, all sorts of humming, crawling, chirping and flowering creatures cavort, elemental to our world and introduced by FAYA through various musical styles. Like migratory birds, we travel from Latin America to Europe, experiencing the biodiversity of nature through rhythm and movement, exploration of instruments and soundscapes, taking home melodies and rhythms that make our days bloom.

ABOUT US

BANDBIOGRAPHY

The FAYA trio exists since November 2018, with its first concerts in Lisbon clubs and several subsequent tours to Italy and Germany, the musicians’ home countries. In September 2019, the newly formed ensemble achieved a breakthrough as winners of the CREOLE WORLD MUSIC AWARD in Berlin. With the award in their luggage, the trio was able to secure further appearances at major festivals and concert series such as the Göttinger Kultursommer, the Niederrhein Musikfestival (DE), the Outono Quente festival (PT) and the Effetto Venezia festival (IT). However, the situation changed drastically in March 2020. Most of the planned tours were canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. The trio was only able to play a few concerts during this phase, including at the online festival “Worldwide Wo*men in Concert”, in a line-up with renowned artists such as Badi Assad, Loli Molina, La Perla, Surma, as well as newcomer bands from the UNESCO Cities of Music, who supported the project. In November 2021, founding member Chiara Pellegrini had to move to Italy for private and pandemic reasons, which called into question whether the ensemble could continue to exist. A wonderful replacement was found for an already planned tour of Germany in summer 2022: the Spanish composer, singer and guitarist Mili Vizcaíno. The tour also took the trio to the Elbphilharmonie, where the musicians took part in the production “O Canto da Baleia” and met their future agent Christoph Hauptmann at a concert at the Golbekhaus. Since then, the ensemble has been constantly working on their own compositions and the release of a debut EP planned for winter 2024, preceded by a single + video clip release and a release tour in Portugal/Spain and Germany.