For this New Sounds, hear music in motion, without much movement harmonically or texturally, but with plenty of motoric and perhaps meditative rhythm. Listen to Japanese pianist Hiromi, German composer Daniel Brandt, and Australian trio The Necks, and music by two Swiss composers, Maja Nydegge and Blaer, and Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin.
Listen to music by Swiss jazzers Blaer, led by composer and pianist Maja Nydegge. There’s a meditative Zen quality to her music of constant motion involving reeds players (Nils Fischer and Claudio von Arx), drum play from Philippe Ducommun, double bass of Simon Iten and the repetitive piano patterns and chord progressions of the composer herself. These motoric meditations are not unlike music from Swiss pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch. Listen to Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin groove on repeating patterns, or “Moduls” as he dubs them. It’s music that draws deeply on Zen and martial arts, wandering freely between funk, jazz, new music, or Japanese ritual music, in what has been called “Zen-funk” and “ritual groove.”
From Japanese pianist Hiromi, there’s adventurous solo piano music with layers of repeating motifs in constant motion from her record, Spectrum. From that record, listen to her tune “Kaleidoscope,” where she treats each finger like a different part of the orchestra. There’s music by Dawn of Midi, where the sounds of electronica are transmuted into the acoustic world. Also, listen to music by Daniel Brandt, of Brandt, Brauer, Frick, the Berlin-based ensemble who accomplish the same - reproducing rhythms and sounds of electronic dance music mostly acoustically. Listen to music from Brandt’s 2017 record, Eternal Something, which “captures a contemplative kind of isolationism.” (Erased Tapes)
Plus, new music by Australian trio, The Necks, whose longform pieces explore small sonic areas and map them out in detail. This focus and repetition, despite the quintuple meter in a tune like “Further,” can bring to mind a Zen stillness.
Program #4345, Music in Motion (First aired 3/24/2020)
ARTIST: Blaer
WORK: Yellow [1:00]
RECORDING: Yellow
SOURCE: Ronin Rhythm Records
INFO: roninrhythmrecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Nik Bärtsch's Ronin
WORK: Modul 42 [6:23]
RECORDING: Holon
SOURCE: ECM 2049
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Blaer
WORK: Yellow [5:51]
RECORDING: Yellow
SOURCE: Ronin Rhythm Records
INFO: roninrhythmrecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Hiromi
WORK: Kaleidoscope [8:07]
RECORDING: Spectrum
SOURCE: Telarc
INFO: Available at Amazon.com
ARTIST: Dawn of Midi
WORK: Io [6:02]
RECORDING: Dysnomia
SOURCE: Thirsty Ear THI 57206.2
INFO: dawnofmidi.com OR thirstyear.com
ARTIST: Daniel Brandt
WORK: Eternal Something [6:35]
RECORDING: Eternal Something
SOURCE: Erased Tapes
INFO: erasedtapes.com
ARTIST: The Necks
WORK: Further [13:47]
RECORDING: Three
SOURCE: Northern Spy Records
INFO: thenecksau.bandcamp.com