Aside from freelancing on the violin, and leading my rock band, Tolyqyn, I also occasionally perform solo.  I’ve developed a unique way of plucking the viola, inspired from the west African Guembri used in Gnawa music. The songs I write for Tolyqyn also work in a solo context, with the intimate setting allowing a better focus on the lyrics.  These lyrics cover subjects from political upheaval, to love, to animals.  I use an octave pedal and a looper to fatten the sound and also to allow me to incorporate improvisation on the violin. As you can see above, I often use both the Viola and the Violin when I perform solo.  I also love to improvise on the violin during these solo shows, purely instrumentally. This leads to a varied show which partly focuses on words, and partly focuses on sound. If you are interested to book me, please reach out! These shows are difficult to capture with videos, due to their intimate and improvisatory nature.