NICA live: ZEVRA feat. Niloufar Shiri, Matthew Ryals, Fan-Qi Wu, Jonas Engel

The improviser, composer and saxophonist Jonas Engel is characterized not only by his insatiable joy of musical discovery, but also by his sustained commitment to the promotion and establishment of experimental and improvised music. Whether as a musician - supported by NICA artist development since 2024 - or as an organizer in the Cologne musicians' collective impakt, which is responsible for the Bruitkasten concert series, among other things: Jonas Engel knows how to connect independent music scenes far beyond Germany. A current example of this is the newly founded band ZEVRA.

The four musicians first met in 2025 as part of an artist residency at the New York art center Art Omi. A spontaneous musical encounter immediately revealed a shared sensibility for sound, form and aesthetics. This immediate musical resonance organically developed into a lasting collaboration between Niloufar Shiri, Matthew Ryals, Fan-Qi Wu and Jonas Engel.

With pipa (four-sided Chinese lute), kamancheh (traditional Persian/Azerbaijani string instrument), saxophone and modular synthesizer, the collective explores the space between structure and spontaneity in free play. Each member contributes a distinctive musical voice, characterized by individual experimentation, cultural heritage and a shared ambition to continuously expand the sonic possibilities of their own instruments. The fusion of acoustic timbres with electronics, cassette manipulation and extended playing techniques creates a constantly changing, dynamic soundscape. Attentive listening and interaction in real time form the foundation of their collaborative music-making. ZEVRA experiments with proximity, silence and density and allows the music to emerge intuitively from the moment. The result is an ephemeral sound terrain that oscillates between the finest details and immersive intensity.