BIOGRAPHY
Born in the multicultural city of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, Dafa is a World music cross-over trio consisting of Syrian clarinetist Ghaeth Almaghoot, Macau-Hongkonger pianist Siu Tin Chi and Spanish-Luxemburger percussionist Erik Larrea.
The trio explores and combines music styles from diverse cultural backgrounds, ranging all the way from the Middle East, through the Balkans, reaching Jazz and touching Latin music. With their own compositions and arrangements, Dafa breaks the ice in times of crisis to unite people and to show the beauty of multiculturalism and the strength of diversity.
The combination of Ghaeth’s captivating melodies accompanied by Chi’s intimate harmonies and Erik’s spicy rhythms creates a mesmerising musical adventure for the listener, taking you on a voyage whilst making you feel at home.
As its name in Arabic suggests, Dafa gives warmth to its audience. Intimacy and delicacy are intertwined with playfulness and fortitude in this blend of music from across the globe, taking you warmly and gently into a memorable journey.
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Erik Larrea is a Spanish/Luxembourgish drummer, percussionist and music educator. Erik started to play drums and percussion at the age of seven, beginning his musical studies in Classical percussion and music theory, at the École de Musique de la Ville d’Echternach, in Luxembourg. In addition, he decided to study drum set, Jazz vibraphone and Latin-American percussion. At the age of eighteen, Erik continued his music studies at Codarts, Conservatory of Rotterdam, in The Netherlands, specialising in Latin-American percussion, drum set and Flamenco cajón. At Codarts, he completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, graduating with ‘Cum Laude’ honors in both. During this time, Erik was regularly performing with several bands and projects in the Dutch music scene, mainly active in the Latin- and Afro-American music sector, but also in Flamenco, Jazz and Pop, as well as several cross-over projects. He is the founder of the Nueve Rayos Salsa band, co-founder of the Kikun Osupa Batá trio and founding member of the Apacay quintet. In 2016, Erik acted as Project Executive of the ‘Xinghai Codarts World Music Week’ in Guangzhou, China. Besides organising the event, he performed several concerts and taught numerous lectures and workshops. Since August 2017, Erik has moved to Guangzhou, China, to work as a teacher at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, with the task of creating a Latin music department at the conservatory.
Chi is a female pianist and composer born and raised in Hong Kong and Macau. She received her higher classical education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, New York Manhattan School of Music, and Jazz in Rotterdam Conservatory (Codarts).
Given the multi-cultural background, Chi's musical styles range from classical and jazz to Scandinavian jazz. Her own compositions, which encapsulate her diverse musical influences: heart-melting classical melodies colored by the intricate jazz harmonies, Indian and European folk rhythm elements intertwine with skillful Jazz improvisation.
Chi is working on her first album which is the emblem of her long-standing fascination with the music of different worlds. Her music is simply embracing herself, go beyond any definition, and touch every soul with tenderness.
Ghaeth Almaghoot is a clarinetist from a small city called Salamiyah, Syria. He did not start his journey with music as a child, it was later at age 21 that he first began playing the clarinet. He moved to live in The Netherlands in 2015 after fleeing the war in Syria; making a new start as both a student and musician under the guidance of his teacher, Alex Simu.
Ghaeth is a graduate from the conservatoire of Rotterdam, Codarts class of 2020, and is currently doing his Masters degree centred around Ethnomusicology at Codarts Rotterdam. Ghaeth has been involved in many different projects during his career, currently performing with Atmaca, L’Chaim and Dyar Band.He has been fortunate enough to tour to many countries with his music (Mexico, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Turkey, Germany) and has played alongside great artists such as Lena Chamamyan, Ellen ten Damme, Netherlands Blazers Ensemble, Konrad Koselleck Big Band, Paul de Leeuw and many others.
"His clarinet style adopts many different genres and his tone is as expressive and moving as a vocal line"
International Music Meeting Festival 2018.
