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With the Susap Karoma jaw harp we got a special piece of jewellery from Steev Kindwald's workshop. The musician and artist combines the traditional Susap of the indigenous people of Papua with Japanese bamboo and a very individual design. The bamboo had dried naturally for many years in a forest near Tokyo when Steev found it. He elaborately worked the sturdy material and decorated it asymmetrically with ashes and Japanese ink. An unusual fusion jaw harp!
The playing technique of the Susap is very peculiar as it is plucked towards the face and that requires some practice. The narrow end of the reed is placed on the slightly open lips, while the string is plucked towards the nose. The mouth serves as a resonance chamber and by modulating the breath through the opening of the mouth, the movement of the tongue or the larynx the tones can be altered. If you master this technique, the plucking itself and the percussive sound will be particularly enjoyable.
Steev Kindwald unites diverse cultural influences as a musician and instrument maker like no one else. He absorbed a huge part of his playing technique on the double flute Alghoza and different mouth harps in Asia, mainly in India and Southeast Asia. He also takes his inspiration from old instruments from museum collections or even archaeological excavations. Steev had a chat with Helen from Dan Moi about his encounters with instrument makers in Asia and furthermore about his approach to making bamboo mouth harps.
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