In BOI AKIH’s music, continents flow together as if land masses were water. The core of the band’s sound is made up of Monica Akihary’s poetic vocals in English and Haruku (a Moluccan language) and guitarist Niels Brouwer’s jazz improvisations. Over nearly thirty years, the two have become completely in tune with one another, accommodating projects that cross all national borders. In 2023, BOI AKIH impressed at the festival after Akihary had just won the Boy Edgar Prize. This year, the duo is once again drawing new musicians into its universe, including renowned American drummer Mike Reed and Rotterdam’s own Peter Somuah on trumpet, and featuring Joshua Herwig (cello), Fanny Meteier (tuba) and Hélène Duret (clarinet). In layered compositions that are both old and new, with vocals that sound sometimes raw and at other times sweet, BOI AKIH’s personal stories tap into universal emotions.
