Agua is a 33-string chromatic harp-lute designed & built by Colibricoleur. The inspiration to create this instrument emerged from a decade learning & playing the kora, traditional West-African bridged harp-lute.
The multiple iterations of agua, whose design shape-shifts as often as its namesake, draw sonic inspiration – as well as design and fabrication principles & materials – trimarily from the kora, the folk-harp and the oud.
The playing style – a flurrying balance of left and right hands – is mused to emulate the omnidirectional flight patterns of the hummingbird. Musical repertoire created with this instrument takes inspiration from water in its myriad forms, and the notion of the instrument as a vessel, a wooden craft designed to carry us o’er waves of sound and sensation.
agua III – 2024-5
Agua III is in evolution at my studio here in Mont Rolland, QC. I’m work to bring the design, creation process and fabrication techniques of models I & II to a point of refinement. I feel I have found the outer limits of the possible design parameters, and am now in the slow-and-steady stage of refining towards balance, clarity and simplicity.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
agua II – 2022
Following my observations of working with agua I for recording, performing and generally collaborating during the November 2021 residency at Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada, as well a winter spent reading and researching, in June 2021 I set to build the second version of the instrument, attempting to improve the quality of the build through design, material choices and fabrication process.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
agua I – 2021
Following several years of intermittent design and pandemic-isolated early prototyping, 2021 was agua’s first year out in the world. This year of growth culminated in a crowd-fund supported 3-week creative music residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta Canada
