London Folk Magazine and News

Max ZT & Dan Whitehouse ‘TEN STEPS’ UK Album Tour

On their second live tour together the two stand-out musicians feed off each other’s unique creativity to present a stunning debut collaborative album - ‘Ten Steps’

Brooklyn’s celebrated hammered dulcimer player Max ZT (House of Waters), and Black Country/Tokyo’s dark, sophisticated gem - singer/songwriter/poet Dan Whitehouse combine their inventive energy and multi-cultural roots to bring virtuoso music interwoven with song and spoken word, drawing on a shared belief in the healing power of music, and the magic of the present moment. ´Ten Steps´ was recorded partly remotely between New York City and Tokyo and completed with improvisations captured at their live gigs in 2021.

"A compelling and innovative sound" Arts Culture Magazine
"Exciting and exceptional… also deeply intuitive poetic and rewarding" Folk Radio UK

ZT is known as an innovator, although he can trace his roots back to Irish folk music. He creates complex and beautiful compositions from a much-expanded set of influences. Studying in Senegal with the Cissokho griot family and in India, where he received a grant to study under the santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Part of the celebrated trio House Of Waters, ZT is signed solo to Six Degrees Records.

He expands on the duo’s approach by saying: "Our show incorporates elements of improvisation, we are trying to be in the moment as much as possible. If you can get your fluency/your vocabulary and your grammar into a place where you can just talk and just be that’s heaven! We rarely get moments of stillness in life. Having a performance space where you can still have stillness, patience and this moment of just being – this feels like something unique."

Dan Whitehouse has, across seven solo albums, gained a golden reputation as “a fine songwriter, a unique vocal talent and a talented multi-instrumentalist/ performer” (Maverick) and for his “subtle and delicate melodies” (The Sunday Times). Nominated for the FATEA 2022 Innovation Award, Dan has become known for his drive to renew, re-invent and imagine, and the Ten Steps project see him push boundaries further, stepping into the arena of improvisation and spoken word.

Dan adds: "We are all interconnected. The best collaborations seek out differences. You have to look inwards to find fluency within and consistently look outside yourself. When Max plays it feels like the ground, or the sky, is opening up. I see things that weren´t there before. My perspective is changed. Ultimately I think that´s why we turn to art - be that a record, picture or a film - we yearn to get outside of our own heads and see the world from another´s perspective. This is what I hope Max ZT and I are bringing to you on this tour - a deep magnetic field.”

"Intriguing" "Gorgeous" The Guardian | "Meditative.. haunting… great musicianship" Maverick

Wed 18th October - Arc Theatre, Winchester

Thur 19th October - Music At The Unicorn, Abingdon

Sun 22nd October - Stables 2, Milton Keynes

Tue 24th October - The Pheasantry, Pizza Express, London

Wed 25th October - Ropetackle Arts, Shoreham

Thur 26th October - The Old Stables, Cricklade

Fri 27th October - Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Sat 28th October - The Stoller Hall, Manchester