NAWĀ

Nawā was born from the meeting between cellist Adèle Viret (FR/BE) and singer and oud player Sarra Douik (TU/IT). Joined by Zé Almeida (PT/BE) on double bass and Pierre Hurty (FR/BE) on drums, they form a quartet whose sound blends poetic narration, jazz, contemporary languages and Arab and North African traditions. In Arabic, Nawā means both ‘seed’ and ‘intention’, thus sharing the spirit of music: a nucleus where diverse influences meet and a common desire to tell stories through it. At the root of our poetic intention, our seed is a reflection on trees. A poem written by Sarra speaks of an old tree passing on the water, air and wisdom of its life to the younger trees around it. As a seed, Nawā symbolises origin and essence, the very heart of who we are between the layers of inherited culture, history and memory. As an intention, the word evokes the desire to move, to cross borders and to imagine a different future. In this double meaning, ‘nawā’ captures the tension between rootedness and movement, memory and transmission, and becomes the metamorphosis of lives shaped by migration, displacement and the search for self through changing landscapes.

Adèle Viret – cello

Sarra Douik – vocals, oud

Zé Almeida – double bass

Pierre Hurty – drums