About AKUSTRIK
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Hi, I'm Ali Houiellebecq
AKUSTRIK is my company name for all things musical. AKUSTRIK is internationally available for festivals, corporate, community, parties, cabaret and education. All types of music from classical to comedy, rave to rhapsody, jazz to jingles. Bringing music to life! A little bit about me
I have been a musician, performer and teacher for quite a few years now! I have spent my career in theatrical collaborations using my musical and comedy skills as a performer and instrumentalist. Here's a summary... |
Ali Houiellebecq
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MummerandadaIn the 1980's I travelled with Mummerandada the pioneers of Street Theatre as a performer and MD.
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Ra Ra Zoo
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I was musician/performer with the legendary Ra Ra Zoo, a seminal group who created physical theatre performance for theatres all around the globe using comedy and circus skills. With Sue Broadway,Lindsey Butcher,Sean Ghandini, David Spathaky, Mark Digby.Shirley Pegna and me.
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Desperate MenIve worked on a few occasions with one of the UK’s most inventive outdoor arts companies: Desperate Men. Their surreal work invites audiences to ask serious questions about the world. Stinkfoot at the Bloomsbury... and in various theatre shows in London's West End including Viv Stanshaw's comic opera Stinkfoot at the Bloomsbury where I played in the theatre band. Also in Oxford Stage Company's Never Trust a City Slicker where I played Maria Calas ! |
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Le La Les
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I then joined forces with Mark Digby, had 2 children with him and we created a fabulous and unique vaudeville show called LE LA LES.
We travelled the globe for 10 years winning Best Street Show at Stockton Riverside Festival and performing at many other prestigious Festivals :It married our talents with Mark being an extraordinary trapeze and acrobatic clown and myself as a musical clown.
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Solo ShowsMy solo show is Madame D'Orificio .
As seen on this page, the only woman to perform a concert on 4 recorders ( 4 for adult show only!!). This can be a walkabout or a static outdoor show and now a fantastic cabaret show. As a static show the audience will be part of the soundscape. With Bushwakkers and beat boxing a crazy ensemble will be unleashed. Madame D'orificio can also play beautifully of course and has a never ending selection of music and costume to play as a solo performer. Watch Madame in action here... 
Madame D'orificio
I was known as Boudicca the Iceni Queen who terrorized the festivals for a few years on a motorised chariot with horse! And Boudicca's alter ego The Snow Queen likes to come out of retirement occasionally.
The Snow Queen
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"Singing opera on a 30 foot high swan going at break neck speed up the River Tees!"
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MusicI played in the Americana band THE VAGABAND for 10years. I released three acclaimed albums with them. I played all woodwind , sax and recorders and sang harmonies on the albums.
Ali Houiellebecq playing with The Vagaband
As a 'straight' musician my instrumental skills are: Soprano/Alto/Tenor/Baritone Sax. Flute and all Recorders, Oboe and Cor Anglais ( I did my degree on oboe playing mostly classical music ). Grade 8 distinction on oboe. Clarinet, Singing ,Accordion, Piano.Spoons. My styles of playing range from classical through to drum and bass. I play and read jazz... I recently began an MA in Sound Art which awakened an interest in field recording and composing with instruments and field recordings.This is an area of work which I am pursuing more.I am extending my skills on Logic and computers and am enjoying a new creative freedom this has offered me ... . |
"In 2019 I had an amazing 6 month back packing trip through Central America where I got to perform with other musicians and discovered the delights of the rich culture of other countries."
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Other performance workI enjoy collaborations with big projects such as Streets of the Moon with D.C productions where I sang opera on a 30 foot high swan up the river Tees. Also Tin House in Norwich.
.In recent years I have worked as composer and MD on two shows for Norwich Puppet Theatre: Legs 11 and Life as Tree. And with Desperate Men at Bristol Museum in a marvelous show about Beouwoulf, as a musician and performer. Further shows with Hocus Pocus Theatre in Factory of Broken Dreams where I had to play a dementia patient And most recently as a performer with Ramshackliscious (www.ramshackliscious.com) a marvellous anarchic show called The Band At The End of The World .How appropriate!
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Teaching I taught woodwind as a peripatetic teacher for 8 years with the Norfolk Music Service. I took voluntary redundancy in 2015 and went backpacking for 6 months through Central America with a flute in my pocket and a bag on my back for. I played with many fantastic bands and musicians on the way including Casa Verde Collective from Mexico. I returned to Central America and Colombia for 4 months in 2019 where I played flute in various Latin jazz groups. I love exploring new places. . |