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Grammy-nominated innovators Manu Delago (handpan) and Max ZT (hammered dulcimer) come together in a bold new duo that reimagines the sonic possibilities of their instruments. Drawing from a lifetime of global collaboration, deep improvisation, and refined compositional craft, the two virtuosos create immersive, meditative soundscapes that unfold with both delicacy and drive.“Hearing Manu for the first time blew me away. There was the obvious virtuosity, but the way that he was composing and thinking about his instrument in an unusual and unique way really stuck out to me and made me feel like this was a connection that needed to be developed further” explains Max ZT. The duo met almost 10 years ago when Manu Delago was touring in the US. “Originally we started with improvisation, but over the years we developed various compositions. Last year we finally found the perfect time and space to record the music, in an amazing 18th-century space in an even older monastery in the Alps. A duo facing each other where both members had just turned 40? We had to call the album Deuce” remembers Manu Delago.
Manu has played drums and handpans with diverse artists such as Björk, Anoushka Shankar, The Cinematic Orchestra and performed as soloist with the Metropole Orkest and London Symphony Orchestra. In his multi-award winning album and film ‘Parasol Peak’ Manu Delago leads an ensemble of seven musicians on a mountaineering expedition in the Alps. In 2021 the adventurous musician and composer launched the ReCycling Tour, a sustainable concert tour by bicycle, on which his band & crew cycled 1500 kilometers across Europe.
Max, hailed by NPR as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Hammered Dulcimer,” has redefined the instrument through a lifetime of global study and innovation. Based out of Brooklyn, he has absorbed diverse traditions, apprenticing with Senegal’s revered Cissoko Griot family and studying under the legendary Pandit Shivkumar Sharma in India. A founding member of House of Waters, Max has scored an Emmy-winning ESPN documentary and released eight albums on Snarky Puppy’s GroundUP Music label. His latest album, On Becoming, was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards.
Manu Delago and Max ZT will release their debut album Deuce in early 2026. Rooted in rhythm, rich in texture, and open in spirit, the duo invite listeners into a world that feels both ancient and somehow entirely new. With exquisite sensitivity and unparalleled technical mastery, they create spellbinding soundscapes that captivate audiences from the very first note.
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