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Explosions of fire. Thrumming, primal rhythm.
Dancers swirling in whirls of diaphanous white. Machetes spinning and
clashing. Ancient instruments and futuristic technologies. Mythic archetypes – skeletons,
deer, wondrous female warriors – coming to life. Seduction. Danger.
Freedom.
These performances surpass what people expect.
You can’t exactly call them concerts; instead Kan’Nal has
created its own ”Shamanic Rock” – personal ritual that
stirs the emotions – fear, desire, ecstasy – in a way that
makes this group much more than just a band. For that matter, you can’t
even call Kan’Nal a “band.” These seven individuals
have drawn together into something that goes beyond family; they’re
more like a tribe, united by ties more binding than birth.
Audiences have sensed this. In the beginning
they drew the curious; these became converts, and the word spread. When
Kan’Nal would return to the same venue, the crowd would typically
have doubled. A few months later the attendance would have tripled.
The music of Kan’Nal alone – documented
on their debut CD, Dreamwalker – conveys the power of these spectacles.
What’s perhaps strangest of all is that these visions, these sounds
of color and shadow and light, trace back to a place of complete darkness,
deep in the Guatemalan jungle, where the idea of Kan’Nal erupted
in one abrupt, life-changing flash.
Fate had brought Tzol here, far from his hometown
of Austin, Texas. He’d
been singing with bands there since he was fifteen years old, but after five
years of doing standard gigs he felt the call to seek greater meaning than
he’d found in local clubs. His intstinct drew him to explore Mexico
and Central America where adventure, ancient culture and mysticism became
the focus.
On one particular night, deep in the jungles of chiapas, he discovered the
vision of Kan'Nal.
Over the next few years each piece of the puzzle
that is Kan’Nal found its place. First, in the village of San
Marcos, near the sacred Lake Atitlan, Tzol met Tierro, a fellow wanderer
drawn
also by forces not easy to understand. They began writing songs and
performing together, though even at this point a sense of exploration
channeled
through their music.
“We played mainly in courtyards behind people’s homes,” Tzol
remembers, “which we’d decorate before each show with flowers that
we’d picked and anything else we could find to create these extravagant
displays. And while we were playing we’d have people walking around and
feeding everyone with juice or grapes or wine, and we’d burn copal or
sage or incense.
After a short visit to Tierro’s home
in Toronto, where they recorded the first Kan’Nal CD as a duo,
the two returned to Guatemala. At their very first show there another
traveler, Rodolfo Escobar, met the two and they invited him to play along
on bass. He’d come down from San Antonio, Texas, where he’d
established himself as a guitarron virtuoso. With his addition Kan’Nal
moved decisively into a stronger groove feel … and with Teresita,
his traveling partner and musical associate, they gained a visual, even
mystical, dimension.
THE BAND
Tzol: Vocals, lyrics, and rhythm guitar.
Tzol's voice ranges from angelic to primal, powerfully expressing the vision
and inspiration he finds from a deep connection to the earth and nature.
Tierro: Lead guitars.
Blending spanish gypsy, native trance and psychedelic leads, Tierro is a world
traveler and an artist of sound.
Rodolfo: Bass.
Captain of Fun and king of the groove. If you're not dancing, then Rodo's going
to have to use his super powers on you.
Teresita: Performance.
Part gypsy dancer and part fire dragon, Teresita lights
the stage with her ceremony and performance art.
Gilly: Drums and percussion.
Somewhere in-between Animal and Zakir Hussain, Gilly drives an intense tribal
beat embellished with intricate middle eastern flavor.
Aaron: Didgeridoo,
percussion, and samples. Offers deep breath, meditation,
and vibration carried in the hypnotic rhythm of the
didge.
Akayate: Performance
and design.
A seeker of balance in both movement and design, Akayate is subtle and precise,
a ninja of dance theater.
What People Are Saying
"...the music which throbs at Kan'Nal's
core—an edgy elixir of post-alternative howl, buoyant Latin acoustic
guitaring, dark metallic drone and propulsive percussion—burns
with a rare, unique passion. "
-- Boulder Weekly - "Primal groove" by David Kirby
"...a spicy, groove-oriented acoustic fusion of Latin and Middle Eastern
rhythms that combines elements of spoken word, electronica, new-age and soft
metallic drone...this breezy, shape-shifting musical seven-piece not only boasts
master hand percussionists and a didgeridoo player, but also features a revolving
tribe of machete and fire dancers -- plus projection visuals..."
Westword
-- "Critic's Choice - Kan'Nal" By John La Briola
"The music snakes into the crowd, connecting
with and compelling many to move with its magic.... this group of wanderers...
are likely to be as much a part of this 21st century phenomenon as the
Rolling Stones and Beatles were to the social revolution of the ’60s. "
-- The Rock and Roll Report - "Kan'Nal in Concert" by Don Bain
"The group is a multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic and multi-sensual stew that
live music fans are eagerly eating up."
Boulder Magazine
-- "Primal dance-band leans toward earth and fire." - by Jeffrey
V. Smith
"...the pulsating beats and hypnotic melodies that
define the genre go back much further, to a time when sounds came not from
computer chips but wooden blocks and animal skins."
-- Dirt Magazine - "Double your daily dose of hypnotic rhythm" -
by Eric Schmidt
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