Simon Sieger / Joel Grip / Michael Griener - Elastic Bricks (January 7, 2022 Umlaut Records)

With a sound reminding us of acoustic piano trios from the 50s and 60s, Oùat sets out to discover a standard song format of today. Even though the nine original compositions on this release are performed instrumentally, they all stand in close relation to text and the vocal; first there was the word, then the simultaneous hearing and speaking, reading and writing of the music and its meaning. The forms are elastic and tend to give the improvisers open access to a great variety of techniques heralding the expressionism as well as romanticism in jazz and classical music. The resonances are dense like dry bricks piled up to conquer and question the times we are living today. The whole recording process have been followed by writer Erin Honeycutt who let us fall back into the word and the thought in her digging as well as constructing liner notes.

Oùat is a trio that found its origins in instinctive moments cast over the front and rear windows of jazz history. On their home ground in Berlin (Au Topsi Pohl) they have performed the music of Ellington, Hasaan Ibn Ali, Elmo Hope, Per Henrik Wallin and Sun Ra. Their debut album of strictly original material, Elastic Bricks, might remind you of Hindemith's dream holiday in Tangier. Sounds and tempi in a strange mix of recognisable disarray and unrecognisable order.

Oùat (Once upon a time) is collective storytelling, about what, where, and at, bringing forth questions about being when and where. Its members play revolving roles in the creative music scenes in Europe, from Marseille to Dala-Floda via Berlin. Their individual work encompass groups like Monks Casino, [ahmed], and Art Ensemble of Chicago. 

1. Shall we

2. Mother and Son

3. Sommer

4. Dala-Floda Departure

5. Height of Nothingness

6. Tibia of the Mole

7. Weihnachten

8. Topsi Dance

9. Borghini Ballade

Simon Sieger: piano

Joel Grip: bass

Michael Griener: drums

All compositions by Joel Grip, except A3 and A5 (by Simon Sieger and Joel Grip) and B3 (by Simon Sieger).

Recording: March 24-25, 2021 at Traumton, Berlin- Spandau

Engineering: Andreas Lammel

Mixing and digital premastering: Alexis Baskind

Vinyl Cut: Kassian Troyer at Dubplates and Mastering/ Berlin

Cover painting and photos: Joel Grip

Liner notes: Erin Honeycutt

Produced by Topsi Series for Umlaut Records

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سم [ISM] - Japanese Flower (June 4, 2021 Umlaut Records)

To follow up on their first album Nature in its inscrutability strikes back (Umlaut Records 2015), the unclassifiable European trio سم [ISM] is releasing two new recordings captured during a studio session in Tokyo in November 2018. The first part titled Metaphor was released on CD in the spring of 2019 while the second installment - the LP Japanese Flower - will be available in June 2021.

In this dense and adventurous diptych, the rhythm section of the group أحمد [Ahmed] exposes and propels music populated by sound fictions that pulverise the listening habits of the jazz trio format. Sometimes polyphonic, meditative, pulsed and repetitive, abstract or hypnotic, the music of سم [ISM] is crude, direct, labyrinthine, always rooted in an immediate sound mattere — as consisting of abrupt breaks and renewed continuities. Like the floral compositions of the Ikebana artist Junichi Kakizaki, this music can be listened to « like a flower » and step by step unveils a secret unity where the work of improvisation intensifies each of its moments.

[ISM] is a name written in ink. A dash through European creative music. A round trip, Berlin – Oxford, via Paris. اسم [ISM] is Pat, Joel and Antonin in a dotted silence without name. Acoustically, the trio creates abstract forms close of written contemporary music with sounds reminding us of ancient traditional jazz trios. The groove wich appears in this music is dense, extreme but always quiet. Music in a continuous flow of high voltage charges. In Arabic, اسم [ISM] is a way to connect between different cultural and imaginary worlds. اسم [ISM] is an Arabic word, which means The Name.

1. Dahlia

2. Tomato

3. Tomato EXCERPT

all music by Pat Thomas, Joel Grip and Antonin Gerbal

recorded 23 november 2018 at Knuttel House Tokyo by Taku Unami

remixed and mastered by Taku Unami

floral art on cover and liner notes by Junichi Kakizaki

photo by Joji Okamoto

design by Takashi Nagata

produced by Antonin Gerbal and Joel Grip

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[Ahmed] - Nights on Saturn (communication) / March 26, 2021 Astral Spirits

"The journey of self-discovery, communing with the eternal sound. A musician steeped in multiple worlds; oceans apart yet closely connected in ancestral memory. Musicians such as Ahmed Abdul-Malik were able to experience the global community of sound warriors, drawing inspiration from ancient cultures to support personal investigation. The connection was made clear, the music of Africa would certainly influence the African in America despite the atrocities of the Middle Passage, chattel slavery, and continued racist violence that sought to sever any connection to the continent. The beauty of Malik’s investigation is this original fusion of new music (Jazz) of the African in America with ancient music of Africa. It is a shining example of collaboration in culture, where the music is allowed to shine for itself. This is the inspiration that is being tapped, being explored in this collaboration where rhythm is the basis for the sound. Just like Malik, they allow the spirit of the collective push the sound as the music develops into exalted chaos. Joy Be Upon Us!" - Luke Stewart

1. Nights on Saturn (communication)

2. Nights on Saturn (communication) SAMPLE

Pat Thomas - Piano

Joel Grip - Bass

Antonin Gerbal - Drums

Seymour Wright - Alto saxophone

Arranged by [AHMED]

Recorded live at Cafe OTO, London, December 5th, 2019

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