House of Waters is an American

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

band. Created , it is composed of

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

player Max ZT, six-stringed bassist Moto Fukushima, and percussionist Ignacio Rivas Bixio. Its style draws from its members' musical backgrounds, incorporating elements of world music, jazz, progressive rock, classical, Senegalese music, and South American music. It has received critical praise for its unique instrumentation, melodic chemistry, and relaxed and fluid sound.

History

House of Waters was created as a five-piece band, which sometime after reduced to a trio. Its name evokes a sense of fluidity, described by ''Paste'' as "the stability and consistency of a well-built home with the clarity and fluidity of water." The band released its first album in 2009. It joined the label

GroundUP Music GroundUP Music is an American record label known for recordings in a variety of genres including jazz, world music, folk, rock, and gospel. The label was founded in 2012 by Michael League as a home for his band Snarky Puppy. The roster of acts on ...

, begun by

Michael League Michael League (born April 24, 1984) is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the bandleader of New York-based instrumental band Snarky Puppy and the international music ensemble Bokanté. He also founded the band Fo ...

Snarky Puppy Snarky Puppy is an American instrumental band led by bassist Michael League. Founded in 2004, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk and has won four Grammy Awards. Although the band has worked with vocalis ...

, in 2016. It began touring internationally in 2017.

Musical style

The band's style incorporates elements of world music, jazz, progressive rock, classical, Senegalese music, and South American music. It incorporates elements from its members' backgrounds. Zbiral-Teller has a background in

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

, and was trained under Sankoum, Fode, and Boubacar Cissoko in Senegal, and under

Shivkumar Sharma Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (13 January 1938 – 10 May 2022) was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. As a music composer, he collaborated with Indian flautist Ha ...

in India. Fukushima was trained in jazz, classical, and South American music. Music critics have noted the band's unique instrumentation, repurposing the hammered dulcimer, traditionally known as an

Appalachian folk music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland), ...

instrument. They have also noted the band's genre fusion, melodic cooperation and chemistry, and relaxed, fluid style. "There is an open air to the sound design that flirts with embellishments that are vibrantly full of life. It feels beautifully unobtrusive without being rendered disengaging," wrote Tyler Caldas in a review for ''Everything Is Noise''. Dan Scheiman of OnStage Reviews noted that "the real plunge into the rock, dance, and metal genres happens when they let loose live". The ''New York Music Daily'' wrote that "there is no other group in the world who sound remotely like them;" Mike Collins in ''

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'', launched in 1997, is the UK jazz monthly magazine. ''Jazzwise'' has a broad sub-genre coverage, from jazz, improv, hard bop, and jazz-rock to bebop and classic jazz, and also covers jazz crossover, including jazz-funk, jazz hip-h ...

'' called that description "rather over-heated" while still praising the group.

Band members

* Max Zbiral-Teller

* Moto Fukushima six-stringed bassist * Ignacio Rivas Bixiopercussion (2016–present) * Luke Notarypercussion (founding–2016)

Discography

* ''Elsewhere'' (2009) * ''Peace the Coats'' (2009) * ''Revolution'' (2016) * ''House of Waters'' (2016) * ''Rising'' (2019) * ''Le Voyage Dans La Lune'' (2022) * ''Ménilmontant'' (2022) The band composed the score for the ESPN program '' E:60''.

References

External links

* {{authority control American world music groups American musical trios World fusion groups Musical groups established in the 2000s 2000s establishments in New York City