‘Completely concentrated upon her bizarre ritual, the singer – dressed in black – emits tortured vocalisations and cries worthy of Yoko Ono in full flight... It’s incredibly in-your-face and perturbing but makes you smile too: the sheer pleasure of making a racket.’ L’Alsace (France)
“A staging of a dream, that of Muyassar, where the dream is considered the vehicle of a primitive divine message and soothsayer - prophetic. The woman - witch is also imbued with an ancestry with the Theatre of the Absurd of Beckett..” IOstudio (Italy)
Muyassar Kurdi is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist. Her work encompasses sound, extended vocal technique, performance art, movement, photography, and film. She has toured extensively in the U.S. and throughout Europe, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the UK in both England and Scotland. A versatile improviser, Muyassar has composed and performed music for voice, harmonium, piano, lyre, autoharp, and theremin in both solo and collaborative environments. She currently focuses her attention to interweaving homemade electronic instruments and sculpture into her vocal and dance performances, stirring a plethora of emotions from her audience members through vicious noise, ritualistic chants, and meditative movements. Kurdi studied voice and dance with legendary vocalist, dancer and recording artist Meredith Monk via The House Foundation, as well as learning the Japanese dance tradition of Butoh with Tadashi Endo, director of the Butoh Center MAMU and with Mexican master of the form, Diego Piñon, among others throughout Chicago, NYC, Berlin, and Vienna. She currently studies with Juilliard faculty member Janis Brenner, also a member of the Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble. Kurdi received an artist-residency in Berlin at Liebig12 for the month of February 2017 performing new works as well as curating her series MACHINE//BODY which has premiered in Chicago and NYC with a focus on connecting sound, movement, and performance.
