MELT by HEARTH

Susana Santos Silva | trumpet
Mette Rasmussen | alto saxophone
Ada Rave | tenor saxophone, clarinet
Kaja Draksler | piano

small instruments, preparations and voices by Hearth

All music by Hearth

Recorded at Portalegre Jazz Festival on May 3 - 5 by João Serigado Mixed and mastered by João Serigado
Produced by Hearth
Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul
Design by Travassos
Cover photo by Szymon Gąsiorek
Band photo by Luís Filipe Catarino/4SEE Photographers


Hearth is the warmth in our lives, pulsing from the center of what we call home. We could also look at it as a combination of the words Heart and Earth, equating two factors of life in search of plenitude: the human one, and the planet in which we live in. This Heart has the energy of life creation and this Earth is Mother Earth, home for all known living beings. This quartet is formed by four spirited musicians: Susana Santos Silva, Mette Rasmussen, Ada Rave and Kaja Draksler, each one of a different origin, Portugal, Denmark, Argentina and Slovenia. None of them live in the country they were born: Santos Silva’s home is in Stockholm, Rasmussen’s base of work is in Trondheim, Rave is based in Amsterdam and Draksler in Copenhagen. Yes, improvised music is transnational and, wanted or not, belongs to humanity. It was in the capital of Holland that the four met for the first time. It was in 2016 at the October Meeting, thanks to a program of ad-hoc combinations, that their desire to play together and form a band came into being. Magic happened at that concert, and all the intervenientes decided then and there that it was a project to explore in the future. The future, an uncertain one in many respects, comes with this “Melt”, a collection of well-thought improvised soundscapes focusing on moods and textures going from the almost inaudible to massive explosions of sounds, with the musical instruments involved – trumpet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone (doubling with clarinet) and piano – being extended by other audible resources, preparations and voices. This is exploratory music at its best, not afraid to enter the unknown, and a refreshing proposal.

susanasantossilva.com