Hang Massive - Razzmatazz

After some years of being away for me, and just one year for them, last Friday we met Hang Massive for their concert in Razzmatazz, here in Barcelona. They are touring the world with their Hang and handpan show, more than three hours of enchanting rhythms and melodies played with six instruments and the collaboration of guest musicians that are touring with them or that simply happened to be in Barcelona the day of their concert.

The event was hosted by the elegant Craig, who introduced to the public the guitar and voice duo Govardo: they are Dominic and Jack, two young musicians mixing their USA, English and Mexican identities to create a busking project made of Dominik’s delicate guitar arpeggios and chords accompanying the evocative and soulful lyrics sang by Jack. It was nice watching and listening to a concert where all the public remained silent, their breath suspended to follow the melody and the crescendo of the songs until the enchanting finale. And at the end of each song, all couldn’t but notice how Jack seemed to feed on the energy and the applause that rained on them.

Then, after a good 45-minute concert by the Govardo duo, it was time for Hang Massive to go onstage. We had never been to a real Hang/handpan concert, I mean I have listened to many musicians play, but it was the first time for us in a concert hall with lights and everything. The audience was there to listen to the songs that have made Hang Massive famous all around the world, playing their songs that reached more than 27 million visualizations on YouTube. At first, we did not know what to think or what to expect, but the songs went on intriguing our ears and suspending time in the repetition of the rhythmic line played by Markus and the melodic combinations played by Danny. From time to time, in between the songs, the same Danny talked to the audience about contemporary hyper-connectivity, both on a technological and on a spiritual point of view, making the whole experience also a glimpse of the power we have to roam around and give sense to the apparently meaningless accidents come across in our daily experience. Then, also Victoria Grebezs, singer and handpan player, showed her impressive voice to an audience that was living at its full the music momentum of the night. Dominik from Govardo accompanied the concert with ambient sounds and video, to finally put create some dubstep lines for Hang Massive to play along. The concert ended with the musicians taking pictures both with the audience as a whole and after they went down the stage we could talk with them, take pictures and exchange a few words and smiles.