About
Tako Toki, the rising degrowing trio
Here is a short video introduction.
Tako Toki was born from a discussion between three experienced musicians about their role in a society grappling with climate change, digital alienation, and blind overconsumption. The idea took shape to promote the notions of sobriety, cleverness, and imagination through music. The trio then embarked on an adventure based on a radical approach: making music with instruments entirely made by themselves, from waste, objects destined for the dumpster, recycled DIY scraps, etc.
Obviously, Tako Toki did not invent the concept, there are many illustrious predecessors in DIY instrument making. However, it must be recognized that while DIY musicians are legion, good music played with homemade instruments remains quite rare. With this in mind, the trio tackles a noble goal: to make music that nourishes the body and soul, as far as possible from the boring DIY instrument demos and the filthy rock of the various trash boys, to the point of making its audience forget the modest origins of its instrumentarium. Thanks to this constraint, the three companions rediscover a creative freshness that had somewhat faded on the road, a childish enthusiasm that feeds on their taste for challenges (can I make real nice music with these things I made with my own big plump fingers?), and an affinity for outsider art and cross-dressing. Finally, Tako Toki will cheaply put forward an attractive ecological sales pitch with its environment friendly instrumentarium and light carbon footprint. Here we are laughingly preparing for the end of the world, totally unplugged. When we'll get confined in caves, we bet Tako Toki will continue to tap on bicycle wheels and blow into mammoth bones.
Members
Etienne de la Sayette
Saxophonist, flutist, composer. For the past twenty years, he's been busy creating a host of projects on the frontiers of jazz, improvised music and world music : he's the father of Akalé Wubé, Frix, Baeshi Bang, and other bands that have taken him to just about every stage and continent. He is also a film music director.
Aurèle Gerin
Percussionist. A graduate of the Geneva University of Music, he demonstrates highly eclectic activities and tastes, ranging from contemporary music to the latest urban grooves. He regularly performs with classical ensembles and works on numerous creative and interdisciplinary musical projects. Aurèle teaches percussion at the Gabriel Fauré Conservatory in Paris.
Nicolas Brémaud
Drummer, clarinetist, and composer. He casually navigates between Brahms and J-Pop. A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, he also works actively as a sound engineer and for television as a musical consultant for concert recordings. He also composes music for film.
Antoine Blanchard
A versatile technician, Antoine uses his extensive field experience to enhance the
unusual acoustic properties of the band's instruments. He has worked in sound systems with, among others, General Electriks, Youssoufa, Renan Luce, Féfé, and others.
Albums and singles
"Between industrial techno and carnival samba, pygmy trance and dancing in the Argentine pampas, their acoustic symphony takes us on a journey" - TT - Anne Berthod - Télérama
"This is how DIY transforms into art" Nathalie Piolée - France Musique
"Both Aurèle Gerin and Nicolas Brémaud are exceptional percussionists, while Etienne's mastery of wood (plastic) wind instruments means that over the 14 tracks, there is meditative beauty as well as moments of great fun. Sohisticated yet playful, this is no mere novelty." Songlines Magazine
"worth mentioning release" "a playful commingling of West African grooves, Korean folk melodies, and minimalist electronics, eprformed entirely on homemade instruments" - Bandcamp
"proponiéndonos músicas a veces intrigantes, otras divertidas y siempre atrayentes" Radio 5 RTV (Spain)
"very pure music, always carried by superb melodies" - Le Grigri
"...músicas a veces intrigantes, otras divertidas y siempre atrayentes". Mundofonias
"Using only 100% homemade instruments, these virtuosos have created an album of playful, meditative and thrilling compositions that evoke the spirits of Steve Reich-ian minimalism, gamelan, world jazz, and traditional West African and Korean music amidst its original beauty". Radio Alhara
“...With this album, Tako Toki proves that DIY can rhyme with elegance, and degrowth with inspiration. A bold project that, beneath its whimsical airs, carries a strong and profoundly contemporary vision. Discover it without delay !” - Solénopole
"...allways polychromatic and passionate..." DJ Nova Dorakis !
"..."fantastic""genius musicians" "music is incredible" - Justin Turford - Totally Wired Radio
"...This taps into something we urgently need: collectivity, collaboration, participation, multi-cultural celebration, and an unplugged anti-consumerist aesthetic that welcomes joining in..." Martha Willette Lewis - Rootsworld
