Might Brank

TRANCE / ROCK / SYNCRETIC

Might Brank* is a solo for drums, percussion, voice, vocoder and electronics, all played in real time. The tribal rhythm, the double pulsations, the onomatopoeia and the resulting timbres promise the discovery of a rather unusual world. There's something profound and spiritual about this kind of trance, which has its roots in medieval secular music, progressive rock and traditional music from the Far East.

* might [n. eng.] = forcefully / branc d'acier [old.french] = large sword from the Middle Ages wielding two hands

« Jà te verras tot detrenchier ; Ne vois-tu ci mon branc d’acier ? »

« Li quens voit le baurhant devant lui aresté,
U li loi branc lendoient à l’archon noielé. »

Emmanuel Scarpa - drums, gongs, jing cymbals, chinese cymbal, bells, metal tubes, wood block, voice, vocoder, effects pedals, composition

LE PÉRISCOPE (Lyon) _ © Mlle DOU & B.Belleudy

CREST JAZZ FEST_ © Christophe Charpenel

LE ZORBA (Paris) _ © JJGFREE

V I D E O S

P R E S S A R T I C L E S

« Ritualistic voice, percussion, electronics - electric shamanism »

A Jazz Noise Blog Posts

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« It's a mysterious proposition, and one to which our taste for sonic adventure has led us. Alternating between enveloping musical meditation and frantic rhythms tinged with progressive rock, this solo by percussionist Emmanuel Scarpa offers an immersive exploration of percussion instruments, some with names as strange as they are dreamlike: planetary gong or Jing cymbals. »

Festival Les Détours de Babel 2023

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« Might Brank's first record, EP#1, presented itself under happy auspices. With The Masks, Emmanuel Scarpa flexes his muscles, as a balloon fan once said. Musically, the album follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, but has gained in substance.

The spiritual dimension is still very much present, though still a little veiled. Freewheeling, it is syncretic and seems devoid of intention. We won't know what's behind the mask, but perhaps that's where the intention lies: for everyone to make it their own.

While it may feel like trial and error at times, the originality of the vocal parts and, above all, the inventiveness of the rhythms are there for all to see. The thickness of The Masks lies in its rhythmic composition and the richness of its sounds, which hold up no matter what. In other words, saved by the bell. »

Raphaël Benoit, Citizen Jazz

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« Sensitive to the morphological plurality of musical writing, attentive to the movements of his compositions, Emmanuel Scarpa plays solo. With his voice, drums and percussion, the musician exposes the vulnerability of his arrangements. He ventures into the sensitive world of his listeners with "sound alterations" (tribal onomatopoeia, Chinese cymbals...). His logic is not to distance himself from European music, nor to place himself in the class of existence of welcoming the world. The Might Brank project leads our ears into a dynamic of morphological creations. Its openness is contagious, its deployment contaminates our senses, we distance our memory and inhabit its sound universe. »

Valérie Lagarde

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« The recording moniker of the very talented Emmanuel Scarpa, as Might Brank he brings his vast experiences with both punk and classical, and many places in between, to this drum focused journey.

“Tempus reductionis” opens the listen with harmonic singing alongside playful percussion and plenty of Eastern influences inhabiting the layered climate, and “Onomato” follows with soothing chanting that flows into an ominous quality of medieval like sounds.

In the middle, “onoff” gets quite primitive with its furious and precise drumming acrobatics, while “Sur la harpe” gets a bit hazy and drones with a progressive appeal that’s hypnotic. “Circum ambulatio” exits the listen, and benefits from mysterious percussion and drumming that truly showcases the immense skill that Scarpa possesses.

ASBA drums, gongs, jiny cymbals, Chinese cymbal, bells, metal tubes wood block, voice, vocoder and effects pedals are all handled by Scarpa here, and it’s about as unusual a listen as those instruments imply. It’s also alluring in a trance-like and spiritual sort of way. »

TAKE EFFECT REVIEWS, MARCH 2022

P O S T E R S