in conversation with Aiyun Huang of Toca Loca

Artistic provocateurs Toca Loca will be in Montreal this week with their special guest Greg Beyer to open Innovations en concert’s twentieth concert season. We talked with Aiyun Huang, the group’s co-founder and percussionist.

In looking through Toca Loca’s history, you seem to do projects with a radically different spin. How would you describe what you do?

That’s a difficult question, because Toca Loca has two identities. Toca Loca is the trio, but we also have this Toca Loca Nation.  Meaning that there’s a core group, but there’s also project-based things that involve a lot of people. So it depends on what’s going on – from playing Berio to playing video game music. We do a wide range of repertoire. Usually it’s about making left turns on some common subject which make you go “really, they’re doing that?” 

How do you know when it’s a Toca Loca project, if there can be so many left turns?

That’s kind of up to us to decide. Greg calls almost every crazy idea he has Toca Loca!

With all of these projects, identities and possibilities, what does the group represent for you?

You know, it’s been more than 10 years now, and we’re still friends. I think what that means is that it’s really about having a great experience playing with friends, and having total trust in our friendships. Whenever we play together, it’s always fun – even though we fight like crazy! When you play for so long together, you can read the other players’ body language very well. It makes chamber music a different kind of experience.  Having that total trust, and having the ability to read what the other players are doing makes a big difference.

Tell us a little about yourself – I’m curious to know about your personal approach to performance. What does it mean for you to be on stage, to communicate through performance?

The continuous desire to be on stage has to do with how true I am to myself as an artist. If I feel have something to say, and I can be true to my own artistry, then I’ll feel comfortable being on stage. And I think some people will understand what that means. Being true to yourself is the key. Because that gives you the power to look into what will come next.

-Nicolas Hyatt

Find out more about Wednesday’s concert. 

The Innovations Zine is made possible with the generous support of the SOCAN Foundation.