Monuments offers the exciting collaboration of the trio Dell Lillinger Westergard (DLW) and Mat Maneri. In 2015 the internationally acclaimed trio teamed up with the American viola virtuoso to investigate in a fascinating sound landscape. Maneri's unique style is informed by microtonal concepts and open compositions. It blends perfectly well with the innovative structural approach of DLW, while expanding the latter in its harmonic tonal space. Displaying ground-breaking views on and work with musical material, the recording at hand focuses on the commonality and the aspect of balance, especially between the different and contrasting instrument groupings and timbres.
In all cases of approaching compositional aspects, the musicians take their point of departure in questioning their concepts of a musical work over and over again. It is decisive, that the artists can never be sure exactly what defines modern genre types such as New Music, experimental music or Avantgarde. Instead each single composition should always open a path for new perspectives, options and procedures. Against this background, the compositional interspaces, the open structural and fragile cracks, the organizational fluctuation between action/sound/time levels establish the formal design of this at the sam time important and evocative recording: the differentiality and relationality of the work and its performers.
Since its formation in 2011, the trio Dell Lillinger Westergaard (DLW) have been researching energetic playing and structural composition in real time. Their complex interactions result in high energy materializing in different layers of sounds, relationscapes. Form comes into being through musical production. In this way the trio transcends the usual dichotomy of rhythm section vs. solo player.
Nominated for the German Jazz Prize 2021, the trio has released numerous productions and toured worldwide. Their double album „Grammar“ (released 2013 on gligg-records) demonstrates the trio’s specific structural approach to form-making from a variety of perspectives. The renowned German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau called the band's work "Boulez in real-time". Organizationally and aesthetically, the setup of DLW works as a plug-in structure creating space for guests, who bring their specific character of playing into the band’s sound. One example is the celebrated cooperation with the late John Tchicai, documented on the record „The Traveller“. Released in 2012 on Jazzwerkstatt Berlin, the ground-breaking album received rave reviews and was on the shortlist of the German Recording Award. DLW teamed up with the experimental electronic artist Johannes Brecht for the recording „Boulez Materialism“, released on PLAIST in 2018. Further collaborations include the renowned pianists Tamara Stefanovich, Bob Degen and Søren Kjærgaard.
This publication is the second publication in the new retroactive series of the exclusive artist’s label edition niehler werft (enw). In 2015 Marko Birkner meticulously engineered the session at the Funkhaus-Studios while Gleb Zagrebin provided a retroactive and punctilious mastering of the recordings in 2021.
Tracklist CD
01 Monument 14 * 04:52
02 Monument 13 * 10:24
03 Void 6 00:35
04 Void 4 01:16
05 Monument 12 04:03
06 Monument 18* 11:20
07 Void 10 02:00
08 Void 1 * 00:54
09 Monument 20 10:21
10 Void 11 * 01:11
11 Void 8 01:43
12 Monument 15* 05:17
13 Void 9 * 01:04
14 Void 7 00:40
15 Monument 16* 08:32
Total time: 64:45 *= on vinyl
Christopher Dell – vibraphone
Christian Lillinger – drums
Jonas Westergaard – drums
Mat Maneri – viola
Recorded 15th of May
2015 by Marko Birkner
Mastered 10th of August
2021 by Gleb Zagrebin
All compositions and concept by
Dell Lillinger Westergaard & Maneri
© & ℗ 2021 Christopher Dell
enw 014
retroactive series
Design by Christopher Dell
Produced by enw and DLW
Dell Lilllinger Westergaard & Maneri MONUMENTS is released by the exclusive artist's label edition
niehlerwerft (enw) on
-180g Vinyl CD with inside out cover and inlaycard (LimitedEdition300)
-CD with 6page booklet (Limited Edition300)
-On digital platforms
Dell Lillinger Westergaard & Maneri - MONUMENTS / 25 February 2022 on edition niehler werft (enw)
(In the United States, it will be released on 03/11/2022)
