MEATSHELL
// MEATSHELL is the experimental-folk duo of Helen Svoboda (contrabass/voice) and Andrew Saragossi (tenor saxophone). With a shared curiosity for the subtle beauty of things, the pair cultivates unconventional sound worlds, transcending traditional song forms by emphasising the power of story telling through sound. Infused with elements of minimalism, contemporary jazz and free improvisation, the music is intimate, raw and unapologetically honest.
MEATSHELL’s quirky songwriting style reflects their shared passion for the unorthodox, and aims to illustrate the full emotional spectrum of the human condition. Sincere, beautiful melodies and euphoric grooves are boldly juxtaposed with moments of mystery, desperation and screaming chaos. The music “does not fit comfortably into subgenre molds” (Scott Murphy, Heavy Blog is Heavy 2019), but rather sets out to holistically challenge traditional instrumental roles; Svoboda explores soloistic and melodic approaches upon the double bass whilst Saragossi utilises both conventional and extended saxophone techniques to create density and harmonic richness in support of the often eclectic lyrical content.
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"Meatshell doesn’t need more then one spotlight to take the biggest stage by storm…Their uniqueness oozes out of their energetic and intense stage presence, charisma and musicality."
- Charlotte Haesen, Jazz Maastricht (NL)
MEATSHELL has been steadily building a reputation for their divergent musical thinking and were recently recognised as winners of the 2020 Maastricht Jazz Awards (NL), as well as being selected to participate in the finals of the 2020 B-Jazz Competition (Leuven, BE). The duo were also winners of the inaugural Award for Innovation in Music (2019 – Conservatorium Maastricht). Their new album "Since Subito" is out now through Earshift Music.
"You may never have heard anything quite like this before."
- Eric Meyers, The Weekend Australian (2021)