Interview with Cedric (27) and Janik (26) from Akala Sounds. Both meet in 2013 on a digeridoo festival in colone. They start with playing percussion und digeridoo on the street. They were looking for an amazing handpan, but this was difficult to get at this time.
More popular known as “hang” or “hang drum” brought in the end of 2013 a friend the first hang in their lives. Cedric got his first handpan in 2015. He was waiting for his handpan for three years. “At this time it was needed to get a place on a list to wait until your handpan was possible to build.” Janik was lucky. He was just needed to wait for a half year until he got his handpan in the middle of 2016. He studies Musicmediation in colone at university and starts in th emiddle of 2016 his first street music german tour.
Their lives changed. Both played together on the road the handpan and they dicovered and searched for new experiences. Together they wished to travel throug europe, to play their music for the people. In November 2017 they start off to do.
Motivation for the traveling was to press the slow down button, get out off the structure which was sawn as “normal”. To get a different view, experience less materials needs, more freedom, free thoughs and positive vibes.
“Meeting different people, connect and heal people by the sound of the instrument and a big desire for a simple life is our motivation”
“If you connect people you meet on the road, you will lose your fears reagring strangers and you can come closer to the feeling that we are one.”
Playing a duett is a sensitive and very energetic trip. Not always with each person possible and always different. Biggest challange is to bring the energy together… “It’s like fire and earth. One likes more the basic tribe, the other one lighter and with more melody. A challange to come together, but (can) a perfect combination.”
We are happy to meet them here and to get more information about the amazing “handpan”, the technical and spirituel facination of the instrumen.
Watch them on youtube during the visit in italy. They met a guy with a “contact ball”and they went in a wonderful flow with them.
They will travel the southcoast of portugal up to the north, then trough spain to france to visit the “French handpan Festival” in July. Further they go to the “Griasdi Gathering”
To contact them you have different possibilities:
Facebook and Youtube. You can follow Janik on Instragram @janikakala.
Janik published on “Bandcamp.com” his first album.