COAST - COAST (ART AS CATHARSIS March 20, 2018)

Art As Catharsis are proud to release the energetic self-titled debut from COAST – riveting experimental jazz that fluctuates between heavy and silk-smooth, structured with the composition expertise of Paul Derricott. 

Delicate but rapid. Smooth but heavy. These characteristics usually stand as opposites, but Coast’s debut weaves these elements together in faultless form. High in energy and full of energetic instrumentals, you can hear hot flushes of heavy rhythmic jazz similar to Kneebody, Mark Guiliana Quartet and Donny McCaslin throughout the album, along with a gentle hint of early BadBadNotGood’s contemporary sheen. 

"This is fresh modern music that is beautiful, energising, inventive, creative…beautifully played, thoughtfully conceived, interesting, funky and lyrical all at the same time." 

- ARIA award winning jazz composer Sandy Evans

1. Blackline

2. Tide

3. Or Not

4. Dance 35

5. Obin

6. White Water

Releases March 20, 2018 

COAST is:

Paul Derricott

Shannon Stitt

Peter Koopman

Michael Avgenicos

Giorgio Rojas: congas (Dance 35)

Mixed and mastered Ian Pritchett

'Blackline' and 'White Water' Mixed by Richard Belkner

Recorded Richard Belkner Free Energy Devices

Artwork by Sam Harwood

All compositions by Paul Derricott

Instrumental (adj.) - Reductio ad Absurdum (ART AS CATHARSIS March 13, 2018)

Instrumental (adj.)’s long awaited follow up to 2015’s A Series Of Disagreements doesn’t disappoint. 

On ‘Reductio ad Absurdum’, the trio have expanded their palette, pushing their progressive and conceptual approach to composition to new levels. 

This is utterly unique progressive music influenced by King Crimson, Animals As Leaders, Bill Frisell, and Mark Guliana.

Releases March 13, 2018 

Instrumental (adj.) are: Simon Dawes, Simon Grove and Chris Allison. 

All songs written by Simon Dawes, Simon Grove and Chris Allison. 

Reductio ad Absurdum was recorded by Simon Grove at Nerve Studios. 

Drums were recorded by Simon Grove at Adversary Studios Marrickville. 

Mixed & mastered by Simon Grove at Nerve Studios. 

Artwork by Sam Harwood (harwood@me.com) 

Instrumental (adj.) would like to collectively thank: 

Lachlan Dale & Art As Catharsis Records, Sam Harwood, Aaron at Adversary Studios, Michael Taverner, Joe Manton, Rahul Menon, all of our loved ones, families, friends & fellow bandmates, bands we have played with, everyone who has lent us gear (in particular Brian, David & Sally), all the venues we’ve played for providing adequate seating and everyone who has come to a gig, listened to our music or spread the word about us. 

Oh, and our good friend Chris Kearnes for the band name inspiration. Happy now, pal? 

Simon Grove uses Darkglass Electronics, Le Fay Basses, Line 6 & Dingwall Basses. 

Chris Allison uses Sonor Drums.

1. Yours

2. Reductio ad Absurdum

3. Panopticon

Hinterlandt - Sollbruchstelle (ART AS CATHARSIS 2018)

Hinterlandt return with ‘Sollbruchstelle’, a lean, 19-minute EP that takes listeners through beautiful harmonic progressions and shifting time signatures in the quartet’s heaviest, densest, and most polyrhythmic work to date. 

In comparison to the band’s previous album ‘Ode to Doubt’, ‘Sollbruchstelle’ is more direct and energetic, and marks a return to purely instrumental music. As always, the material was written by ensemble member, Jochen Gutsch, a German-born composer who combines an interest in unusual instrumentation, polyrhythmic structures and avant-garde practices with a sense of beauty and catchy melodies. 

Here, Hinterlandt makes use of acoustic guitar as a quasi-percussion instrument, cello to hold the bottom end together with its heavy double stops, and two violins in question-and-answer conversations, not unlike a pair of witty sisters who finish each other’s sentences. 

Angular, progressive semitone and tritone driven sections alternate with melodies that wouldn’t be out of place on experimental pop records. But then, this accessibility is offset by constantly shifting time signatures and harmonic progressions that keep listeners on their toes for the full 19 minutes of the EP. 

In stark contrast to the popular ‘ambient neoclassical’ genre - which often comes off as a simplified throwback to late romantic-era classical music, mixed with post-rock sensibilities and gratuitous reverb - Hinterlandt combine intimate chamber music with densely layered, eclectic compositions. The result sounds something like a marriage of Kronos Quartet, Steve Reich and Meshuggah. 

The term ‘Sollbruchstelle’ comes from German engineering, and describes a part of a machine or product that is designed to break under pressure. “What interests me about this concept is the fact that the part’s individual weakness is the greater machine’s strength,” explains Hinterlandt’s Jochen Gutsch. 

‘Sollbruchstellen’ are placed carefully and deliberately to bear the brunt in a critical situation, thereby sparing the overall system. “Their fragility saves the lives of other parts that are considered more valuable”, Jochen adds. “There’s a beauty in this contradiction that relates well to our music, and I can see countless analogies to social issues of our times.” 

With ‘Sollbruchstelle’, Jochen has applied more pressure to Hinterlandt's music that ever before. Despite the dense, immediate nature of the compositions, they almost, but never quite, collapse under their own weight. A masterful achievement.

1. Plan A

2. Plan B

3. Plan C

Monique Mezzatesta - Violin

Susie Bishop - Violin (Live: Jara Stinson)

Simeon Johnson - Cello

Jochen Gutsch - Guitar, Trumpet

Composed and recorded by Jochen Gutsch at the Hinterlab. Artwork by Simeon Johnson. Mastered by Tony Dupe at Abandoned Fireworks Factory. Released by Art as Catharsis in February 2018.

Gauche - Siesta Cinema (ART AS CATHARSIS 2018)

Art As Catharsis are proud to re-release Gauche’s second full length album, 'Siesta Cinema' - the culmination of this incredibly creative and original group. 

"Influences from Bjork, Portishead, Aphex Twin and Cinematic Orchestra are highly evident. The level of talent here is impressive, with an equal amount of the spotlight having been given to all involved. " 

Gauche were a Sydney-based experimental band that existed between 2001 and 2007. Art As Catharsis are re-releasing their back catalog as part of an effort to conserve important recordings in Australia’s experimental music history. 

The 5 members of Gauche hail from radically different musical backgrounds, from jazz, gypsy, classical, hip hop, circus and beyond, and the diversity and talent in Gauche has created a unique new sound in Australian music Gauche's latest album "Siesta Cinema" reinforces why they have been described as one of Sydney’s most original, brave and genre-defying bands.

1. Scene One: Siesta Cinema 03:31

2. Scene Two: The Trap 03:52

3. Scene Three: The Sweet Pursuit 06:05

4. Scene Four: Love's Purgatory 03:43

5. Scene Five: A Different Journey 03:31

6. Scene Six: Photograph 03:55

7. Scene Seven: Snowflake 03:30

8. Scene Eight: Sesame Street Party 03:48

9. Scene Nine: Nightcrawlers 04:25

10. Scene Ten: Hieroglyph Heart 06:18

11. Scene Eleven: Winter 04:44

Gauche - Paints Lane (ART AS CATHARSIS 2018)

Art As Catharsis are proud to re-release Gauche’s first full length album, 'Paints Lane'. A review from Shed 14 said at the time: 

"Named after the narrow laneway next to their warehouse, ‘Paints Lane’ is a captivating listen with influences from Bjork, Portishead, Aphex Twin and Cinematic Orchestra highly evident. The level of talent here is impressive, with an equal amount of the spotlight having been given to all involved. 

‘Paints Lane’ is heavy on the experimentation and not always pretty listening. Opening with ‘The Road’, Jane’s operatic vocals are met with heavy synths and dark shuffling beats, as she sings about ‘losing sight of the road’ chords fade and morph into a shuddering bass line which then weaves its way into the ceremonial sounds of an organ. ‘Honeymoon’ combines late night jazz and spaghetti western guitar riffs with loud crunching noise, frantic percussion and eerily droning basslines. 

‘Take My Hand’ is sexy, bold and brassy and oozes of 1920’s brothel charm. ‘Jemima’ and ‘Barbed Wire’ throw sacrificial metal outbursts into the pot when you least expect it. ‘Flying’, my favourite track on the album is reminiscent of 1990’s Melbourne outfit ‘Paradise Motel’ with its swirling combination of gentle beats, delicate chimes and beautiful voices that move gracefully between shadow and light." 

Gauche were a Sydney-based experimental band that existed between 2001 and 2007. Art As Catharsis are re-releasing their back catalog as part of an effort to conserve important recordings in Australia’s experimental music history. 

1. The Road 04:32

2. Honeymoon 04:51

3. Butter 04:48

4. Take My Hand 04:13

5. Jemima 03:18

6. Barbed Wire 03:08

7. Savoir Faire 04:20

8. Can't Get Back 04:50

9. Flying 03:25

10. CCTVB 06:56

11. Trapeze 03:05

12. Classrooms 06:11

13. When Clouds Collide 03:22

Originally released in 2004 by Inertia / Invada Records.

Gauche are:

Jane Sheldon - vocals, vocoder (6), Rhodes (13), drum programming (13), NN-TX (13).

Alon Ilsar - acoustic kit (all except 13), EAPP* (2, 8, 10-12), percussion** (1, 5, 11, 13), Hammond draw bars (1), drum programming (1, 3, 6, 7, 13), Maelstrom (1), NN-TX (9).

Julian Curwin - guitars (except 1, 10, 13), banjo (1), Korg MS2000 (1, 3, 7, 10, 11), violin (9, 12), cello (9, 12), drum programming (7).

John Maddox - double bass and effects (except 13), Korg MS20 (1, 10, 12, 13).

Luke Dubber - Rhodes (3, 7, 9, 13), Hammond (1, 2, 5), piano (2, 4, 11, 12), Korg MS2000 (3, 4, 6-10, 12), Roland RX30 (6, 8-10, 13).

Produced by Alon Ilsar, with Jane Sheldon and Julian Curwin. 

All sounds recorded at Buckland St, Chippendale (except strings at Moreton Ave, some keys at Young St, most piano at Reddam house) Dec 03 - Jul 04.

All tracks engineered by Sam Ferguson (except 4, 6, 11, 12 by Alon, 13 by Jane).

Mixed by Richard Belkner for Free Energy Devices in Chippendale Jul 04 - Sep 04.

Mastered by William Bowden in Stanmore 14/09/04.

Cover art by Angus Fisher in Annandale.

* Home-made Electro-Acoustic Percussive Pads (EAPP), created by Alon from junk percussion, piezo transducers (contact mics) and a no-input mixer. Those dear to him call it the Alonomophone.

** Egg shaker, maracas, rainstick, steel lamps, bubble wrap, clothes peg, plastic cup and belt buckles.

Gauche - Sigh (ART AS CATHARSIS 2018)

Art As Catharsis are proud to re-release Gauche’s debut EP ‘Sigh’, an ambitious piece of experimental pop drawing from Bjork, Portishead and Aphex Twin. 

Gauche were a Sydney-based experimental band that existed between 2001 and 2007. Art As Catharsis are re-releasing their back catalog as part of an effort to conserve important recordings in Australia’s experimental music history. 

On their 2003 demo, 'Sigh', we find Gauche colliding disparate musical elements together to create unique and beautiful forms - floating melodies laid over polyrhythmic beats; furious, live drum-and-bass in odd time signatures; looped and reversed tango and gypsy-style guitar lines weaving around soaring classical vocals. 

While Gauche's aesthetic developed considerably over their short career, there is something captivating with the intensity and audacity of 'Sigh'.

1. Sigh 04:31

2. Home Tomorrow 04:59

3. The Swindle 03:21

4. Butter 04:40

5. Against The Wall 06:38

All songs written and performed by Gauche

Recorded live (plus backing vocals and keyboard overdubs) and mixed at Zen Studios 11/12/02, except 'Sigh' and 'Home Tomorrow' mixed by Ben Oakley

All songs mastered by Ben Oakley

Artwork by Mark Bolotin

Holler My Dear - Steady As She Goes (TRAUMTON RECORDS 2018)

The first song of the new album already makes clear where Holler My Dear’s musical journey is heading to this time. Steady As She Goes signalizes confidence, courage and movement. The international band from Berlin knows: when the shadows in the world grow longer lamenting doesn’t help, but optimistic determination does. Accordingly, the music sounds like a soundtrack for a confident departure, for courageously swimming against the tide. Of course there are also pensive moments and quiet ballads.

But overall, the pleasure of cheerfully dancing out of line prevails, inspired by music that sounds uplifting and elevating. Wonderful melodic arcs, catchy hooks, triumphant choirs and infecting grooves are topped off by Laura Winkler’s captivating vocals, changing between soul, pop, and jazz. They convey good-humored resistance, dispel sadness with subtle wit and exude a lightness that never turns into carelessness. This is inextricably linked to clever song lyrics, which clothe reflections about the way of the world in direct, cunning or poetic words.

Holler My Dear’s second album Eat, Drink & Be Merry three years ago was already celebrated for its unusual, largely acoustic sound, in which trumpet, accordion and mandolin step out of their traditions to create something new. Laura Winkler’s enormously versatile singing and her optimistically worded thoughtfulness left an even longer lasting impression. “Every piece unstoppably heads for a hymnal climax and in its fervent core shines Winkler’s masterful vocal art,” Rondo wrote. The magazine Folker praised that “progressive music can also be made without electronic effects,” and Andreas Fellner from Ö1 diagnosed the “music as an anti-depressant”.

Others highlight the “artful pop attitude” (Mica - Music Austria) or the boundlessness of the music. The internationality of the sound lies in the genes of the sextet. Laura Winkler, born 1988 in Graz, studied voice and composition in the conservatory there, and moved to Berlin in September 2011. Several years earlier, the drummer Elena Shams and accordionist Valentin Butt came to the German capital from Russia, independently from one another. Lucas Dietrich originally comes from Vorarlberg and lived in Paris for three years, trumpeter Stephen Molchanski previously played in London with a hip-hop band and with the Alternative Dubstep Orchestra. Fabian Koppri from Brandenburg had the shortest way to Berlin. The band came together in the winter of 2011/12.

Recently they added another Briton, the singer/songwriter Ben Barritt, who joins the band for live shows from time to time and was now also featured in the production of the new album. All personalities bring their own distinct musical backgrounds. Molchanski’s trumpet sounds like New Orleans jazz or Vaudeville drunkenness, in addition he raps skillfully ironically. The accordion awakes memories of Balkan or French musette, even though Butt’s playing is so well versed and multifaceted, that he has already worked for the Berlin Philharmonics and various theatres.

Elena Shams drums disco beats with audible enjoyment and reveals her passion for detailed, playful patterns. As a self-declared Steely Dan fan, Barritt is an expert for second voice harmonies and focused entries, such as striking funk or other guitar riffs. As the center of force and gravity, Laura Winkler’s splendid singing floats above everything. As lively as ever and in certain colors even more confident, her spectrum ranges from slightly dreamy, atmospheric moments to gospel-like expressiveness. In between there are rhythmic phrasing, rapidly spoken lines and jubilant boosts. Her irresistible enthusiasm always conjures a smile on the audience’s faces. Laura Winkler is the main composer and songwriter of the band; her subtle humor protects even profound passages from too much melancholy.

On Steady As She Goes Winkler has become more straightforward than before, also musically, but especially in the lyrics. Nonetheless, the songs are still full of detail. “I love it, when an album works like a movie, novel or journey and you just can’t stop and always want to listen on. Therefore I already gave thought to how the individual pieces go together harmonically and in what order they should be on the CD while composing them. It was also my aim to structure the songs airier, because the band will make them more dense later anyway.” Some facets, like stylistic elements and metaphors, appear multiple times over the course of the album. “We created certain sounds for terms like ‘water’ or ‘storm’,” Winkler explains, “furthermore, there are recurring themes in the lyrics.”

First and foremost, there is her stated plea for candor, pluralism and humanity, as well as explicit rejection of exclusion, fear mongering and absolute calculation. Laura Winkler also displays diversity in a personal manner in “Little By Little”, where she openly sings about queer topics. And Winkler poetically addresses absurdities of today’s electronic communication in “Orchid Song”. “We want to speak to our audience and tell them how we see things and what really gets to us,” Winkler says. Many international concert tours in the past years have brought the band even closer together. Experiences like in Mexico City, “where several thousand spectators were hopping around at our show,” were impressions that influenced the new songs, just like the ones in Iran and Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, or Estonia. “In Teheran we were always approached; the people absolutely wanted to exchange views.”

The band is all the more excited about their first Malaysia tour in the beginning of December, where they are also performing at the Penang Island Jazz Festival. Under the impact of tour experiences, Holler My Dear are playing with dynamics even more purposefully and sprinkle some contemporary electronic vignettes in between their distinctive acoustic sounds. When Holler My Dear think of disco, they primarily mean those classics like Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” from a time when disco still had a societal relevance aside from glamor and hedonism, and conveyed a solidary attitude towards life.

“The idea, to animate people even more strongly to dance, does not mean giving up the filigree aspects of our music,” Laura Winkler emphasizes. There is a clear message inherent in the album’s title Steady As She Goes: “Keeping the ship on course” does not necessarily mean straight stability, but rather cutting one’s way, possibly swaying and shaky, through high waves. “One has to be flexible, because the only thing consistent is change. In doing so, we think of ‘Don’t Panic’ from The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy,” Laura Winkler grins. “Changes are part of our life and we stay in motion.” It is precisely this attitude that makes Holler My Dear’s Steady As She Goes a very special pop record, on which lightness and depth, passion and grandeur are soaring.

1. Steady As She Goes 02:49

2. Forward 04:00

3. Home Away from Home 04:39

4. Seeds of Concord 04:10

5. Dream Sequence 03:13

6. Little by Little 04:01

7. Nemories 05:19

8. The Deep 01:13

9. Orchid Song, Pt. 1 03:24

10. Orchid Song, Pt. 2 01:45

11. Steady As She Goes (The More the Merrier) 05:01

12. Scintillating Lady 05:04

13. Wrong Thing’s Some 00:37

14. Something’s Wrong 05:12

15. Zwischen den Städten 05:59

16. Afterword 06:08

www.hollermydear.com

Sebastiano Dessanay / Alessandro Di Liberto / Pierpaolo Frailis - Alternative Songbook EP (April 16, 2018)

Three outtakes from the recording session of Songbook Volume Two, two of which (Alternatively Nora and Sos Alternative Meres) remixed and remastered by Matthew O'Malley in 2017.

1. Alternatively Nora 02:46

2. Alternate Intermission 03:03

3. Sos Alternative Meres 05:39

Sebastiano Dessanay, double bass and all compositions, except Alternate Intermission by Dessanay, Di Liberto, Frailis

Alessandro Di Liberto, piano

Pierpaolo Frailis, drums

Recorded at Studio 1, Birmingham Conservatoire on the 15/16/17/18 of June 2011

Mixed and Produced by Matthew O'Malley

Assistant Engineer Emma Chilton

Mastering by Matthew O'Malley

Cover artwork by Seb Camilleri

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Dunmall / Schubert / Dessanay / Bashford - Sign of the Times (2018)

Master UK saxist, Paul Dunmall, has been working with other saxists through the years (like Evan Parker & Dave Liebman) and obviously chooses them well. This is the third recording that Mr. Dunmall and Mr. Schubert have done together, working with Alex Von Sclippenbach and Willi Kellers in the past. Both Italian bassist, Sebastiano Dessanay and UK drummer, Jim Bashford, have recorded with Mr. Dunmall in the past as well. From the gitgo, there is a fire burning from within, with Mr. Bashford’s strong mallet work and Mr. Dessanay’s probing bass creating an uplifting undertow. Both saxes, first alto and then tenor, start spinning one at a time, the spirits slowly rising higher as they build, the energy and intensity edging upwards as the go. The interplay between all four members of this quintet is extraordinary, waves upon waves, spiraling higher and higher as they go. Both saxists, although different and distinctive in tone, toss their lines tightly back and forth, sometimes at furious pace, sometimes sailing down to a more restrained simmer. When they later switch to soprano, the stream is more contained yet no less focused. The ’Sign of the Times’ must be the setting free of those cosmic spirits since this is what we have here. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

1. Sign Of The Times 31:49

2. Talbot 21:07

3. Blues Is The Colour Of My Beloved 08:19

Paul Dunmall, soprano, alto, tenor saxophones

Frank Schubert, soprano, alto saxophones

Sebastiano Dessanay, double bass

James Bashford, drums

Recorded at the Lamp Tavern, Birmingham, on 10/10/2017

Recorded and mixed by Matthew O'Malley

Wood engraving by Paul Dunmall

Produced for FMR by Trevor Taylor

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Sebastiano Dessanay UK Quartet - Restless Dreams (2018)

Restless Dreams is the latest album by Sebastiano Dessanay, which features his UK Quartet with Fulvio Sigurtà on trumpet, Bruno Heinen on piano and James Bashford on drums. 

The album took a long time to be conceived and realised, and it includes all original compositions by Sebastiano, some of which are rearranged tunes from his chamber opera The Cry of the Double Bass (www.thecryofthedoublebass.co.uk). 

Restless Dreams was beautifully recorded in Cagliari at janeStudios by American sound engineer Marti Jane Robertson. The cover photos are by Francesca Ardau and the stunning cover artwork by Giampaolo Gerra.

1. Prologue 00:45

2. Guarujá 04:57

3. Father and Son 04:28

4. Mother 08:45

5. Two Riffs 07:26

6. Restless Dreams 06:45

7. Norma 04:36

8. Oh My Soul 06:01

9. Epilogue 01:47

All compositions by Sebastiano Dessanay

Fulvio Sigurtà, trumpet and flugelhorn

Bruno Heinen, piano

Sebastiano Dessanay, double bass

James Bashford, drums

Recorded on 13 and 14 of April 2017 at janeStudio, Cagliari

Sound Engineers: Marti Jane Robertson and Michele Rovelli

Assistant Engineer: Marzia Bulli

Mix and Mastering: Marti Jane Roberston

Produced by Sebastiano Dessanay

Artwork by Giampaolo Gerra

Other Animal - Other Animal (TRAUMTON RECORDS 2018)

A new formation with old friends, a particular sound with familiar vignettes: Other Animal plays “alternative prog-jazz”. The newest project of Bernhard and Peter Meyer, who take the key roles as composers and producers in this quartet, unites players from Berlin and New York who harmonize perfectly together and inspire each other. The Meyer brothers are best known for their highly acclaimed Melt Trio. With their distinct music and sophisticated stylistics on semi-acoustic bass and electric guitar, they have been contributing to the Berlin-specific jazz sound for years.

Beside the already beaten paths of the genre, they fuse elements of improvised and new music, independent-rock and ambient sounds and show how jazz can sound in the present and the future. “Also on their third album, the Melt Trio again plays in a league of its own,” Jazzpodium summarizes and places Peter Meyer among the international ranks of the generation Marc Ribot, Jacob Bro and Marc Ducret.

The magazine Rondo labels the trio as “one of the most stunning of the current jazz scene.” As a trio they have always enthralled listeners with their CDs and countless concerts and in addition, they explored other constellations - sometimes together, sometimes separately. For instance with the Norwegian electronica artist and live-remixer Jan Bang, the drum charismatics John Hollenbeck and Nasheet Waits, the exceptional singer Theo Bleckmann and the Portuguese double-bass original Carlos Bica. The Meyer brothers had also worked with Jim Black in the past.

Born in 1967 in Seattle, Black studied at Berklee College, then moved to New York and ever since, has been enhancing many projects with his distinctive playing. On the one hand in his own formations, such as the post-rock jazz quartet AlasNoAxis with Chris Speed, the Balkan-oriented Band Pachora, as well as Human Feel, with Speed, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Andrew D’Angelo. Furthermore, Black recorded a handful of albums alongside Dave Douglas and Uri Caine, also for the BBC with Tim Berne and Nels Cline, with Dave Liebman, Steve Coleman, Laurie Anderson and many more. During the same time as these sessions with Jim Black, the Meyers had initiated collaboration with Wanja Slavin.

The saxophonist, born 1982 in Freiburg and based in Berlin since 2005, received a Jazz-Echo award in 2014 for the album Starlight, which he recorded with Petter Eldh and Christian Lillinger. Most recently Slavin attracted attention in the quartet Amok Amor (Eldh, Lillinger, Peter Evans), for instance at the Moers Festival 2016, London Jazz Festival and Jazzdor Straßburg. Moreover, he has played with Kenny Wheeler, Médéric Collignon, John Schröder, Joachim Kühn, Alexander von Schlippenbach and others.

It was only a matter of time, until these award-winning individualists would unite to form a quartet. In November 2016 the band went to the legendary Funkhaus-Studio in the east of Berlin. The takes were so successful that thoughts about cutting and editing never came up. Merely a few overdubs were added, like guitar layers and electronic effects from Peter Meyer and flute and synthesizer from Wanja Slavin, to give the sound more depth here and there. With only one exception, Bernhard and Peter Meyer wrote all pieces on Other Animal specifically for this quartet.

“We wanted to give the musicians something where they could fully unfold their magic. Jim masters an enormous variety of grooves, so of course we also worked with that.” Consequentially the tempos of the pieces are very diverse and reach from almost Nordic seeming calmness all the way to crescendos with metropolitan verve. Black’s intuitive, free and yet very pointed playing with dynamic and forceful entrances also exhibits a pronounced sense for sound, which again harmonizes perfectly with the Meyer brothers’ sound awareness, their arcs of suspense and their energy made up of both transparent-airy and powerful dense passages. Wanja Slavin brings a sometimes fragile, sometimes rough beauty into the band. Inspired by the revolutionary expressiveness of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, Slavin can captivate with sensitive as well as forcefully gripping sounds; some facets of his playing are reminiscent of new music and electronic music.

Thanks to Slavin, Peter Meyer’s role in this quartet is a little different than usual. “With the Melt Trio I’m always the soloist, kind of like the singer of the band. In Other Animal I can concentrate on creating specific tonal colors from time to time. Just like guitarist Meyer, Slavin evidently also thinks in structures and textures. Both focus on atmospheric, sharply detailed soundscapes instead of the traditional “faster, higher, further”-competition. Thus they interlock like zippers’ teeth - not only in parallel passages. Or they seem like a tree, whose shoots sprout into different directions.

A constant quality of Other Animal, is the compositional modernity of both Meyers, which is guided by their own listening habits. The two early thirtysomethings are not only influenced by the sound of certain jazz greats like Bill Frisell, Keith Jarrett (especially the quartets with Haden, Motian, Redman or Garbarek), Marc Ribot and Terje Rypdal, but also by rock experimenters like Radiohead, James Blake and the Notwist. Exemplarily they mention their piece Nongeniality; a melody that could come from Charlie Parker, but is turned and twisted through the indie-rock filter. To the Meyer brothers the form of the songs is at least as important, as melodic themes and solos.

By that, they mean the sequence of parts, arcs of suspense and instrumentation. In these aspects McCoy Tyner and Brad Mehldau are just as much inspirational sources as Weather Report and Grizzly Bear. Above all else is the band’s motto formulating what is best for the music: playing consciously and intuitively, leaving out the irrelevant and standing above vanity and self-display.

The title Other Animal represents the unknown and the new, Bernhard and Peter Meyer explain. A band is an organism, which breathes and pulsates. It needs to communicate and be kept alive to amaze with different motions, timbres and developments again and again. In this sense, Other Animal is a very special, charismatic species.

1. Drown Dreams 03:43

2. Name of Cold Country 05:38

3. Mr Manga 02:49

4. Stroy 05:03

5. Downbear 04:47

6. Nongeniality 03:11

7. Cloudline 04:13

8. E Dance 06:03

9. No Fruit 04:14

10. Spectral 05:55

11. Qubits 04:15

12. Blim 05:24

Peter Meyer - guitar

Wanja Slavin - sax

Bernhard Meyer - bass

Jim Black - drums

Bernhard Meyer - Murmuration (TRAUMTON RECORDS 2018)

“I have had this formation in mind for some time now,” Bernhard Meyer says about his quintet, which unites an unusual combination of instruments and charismatic musicians. “The specific sound came together over time in my imagination,” Meyer continues, “inspired by collaboration with these musicians individually, in smaller formations.” Of course the ingenious unity with his brother Peter is present again, well known through three highly acclaimed albums and countless concerts of the Melt Trio. Moreover, Bernhard Meyer’s particular, melodiously rich playing of his semi-acoustic bass has impressed listeners in co-operations with Norway’s live-remixer and electronica-grandmaster Jan Bang (with the Melt Trio), John Hollenbeck, Jim Black, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Nasheet Waits, Eric Schaefer and many more.

Besides the Melt Trio, the Meyer brothers have been exploring similarities with another outstanding drummer of the German scene for a while now, namely Andi Haberl. The Bavarian Berliner-by-choice made a name for himself with distinctive appearances with the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and has been fascinating audiences with Europe’s most progressive indie-rock band The Notwist for years. In addition, Bernhard Meyer played several concerts in a chamber musical jazz trio with the clarinet virtuoso and electronic tinkerer Claudio Puntin and Julius Heise, who shone as a fine jazz vibraphonist, with the Brand Brauer Frick Ensemble among others.

Some time ago Bernhard Meyer united the different personalities into a new quintet. On Murmuration the stylists now reach tremendous depth and wonderful richness of detail. At times their playing is extremely filigree, like a ballerina they perform surprising twists on tiptoes. At the same time there is a force inherent in their interaction, which blazes the way dynamically and can boost and intensify contrasts. The expression spans from acoustic nuances all the way to contemporary electronica vignettes and futuristic facets.

Bernhard Meyer’s individual bass playing goes far beyond just setting the basis and carries melodies and rhythms. On top of that, the internal allocation of responsibilities shifts. Sometimes Peter Meyer and Julius Heise create harmonic chords and transparent sound layers, then the guitarist changes to join Claudio Puntin, to merge melodies and electronic sounds. Just a little later the Meyer brothers and Andi Haberl act as a rhythm section, trenchantly pressing the groove forward. Bernhard Meyer’s compositions and arrangements unroll a wide panorama. It is so rich in variety that you always want to keep going, curious to find out what happens beyond the next bend.

Melodies and themes flash up, fade again into the background and come back unexpectedly from a different direction. Every piece has its own character. “Plain Air” is reminiscent of Steve Reich’s pathbreaking minimalism, “Unchild” conveys almost sacral atmosphere, “Wooden” captivates with its open and in a broader sense free approach. At times one deems to perceive distant allusions to John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet, Bill Frisell, colorfully shimmering arrangements of Sufjan Stevens or Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Heartcore.

A scale by Olivier Messiaen provides the basis for a three-part unison in “Corus”. New perspectives surprise again and again, even within certain tracks Meyer skillfully plays with alleged contrasts. Like in “Growl”, where weightless, warm sounding vibraphone and cool monolithic synthesizers encounter each other get along remarkably well. In “Plain Air” the Classical minimalism makes way after a while for a passage, in which the spirit of Charles Mingus comes alive; then towards the end the piece comes closer to the indie progressive rockers Grizzly Bear. Throughout the album, grooves interchange with odd meters and freely devised rhythms.

Some ingenuity might remain concealed to the listener, which doesn’t disrupt the enjoyment though, nor does it bother Bernhard Meyer. He sees the conceptual deliberations for his pieces primarily as a toolbox for producing new ideas. As an example for details with deeper background, he mentions his bass improvisation on “Aphir”, which isn’t performed as a traditional solo, but is abstracted in a live-remix by Peter Meyer and Claudio Puntin.

Bernhard Meyer has meticulously polished many aspects of his compositions. As head of the quintet, most impulses and ideas do indeed come from him - at the same it is important to him, that his partners have room to bring in their personal talents. Thus drummer Andi Haberl and the Classically trained and New Music versed Julius Heise can also exhibit their sense for orchestration. A master of this discipline is Claudio Puntin, when he’s not playing as a soloist.

Born 1965 in the Central Swiss town Zug, the multiply award-winning clarinetist wrote music, besides for his own productions, also for film, theatre, audio dramas, and exhibitions. His list of collaboration partners is long and stretches from Steve Reich, Carla Bley, Fred Frith, Hermeto Pascoal and Sidsel Endresen to the Ensemble Modern and the Philharmonic Orchestras of Cologne, Munich and Zurich. Most recently Puntin worked in the Trio Ambiq with producers and DJs Max Loderbauer and Ricardo Villalobos, to create bridges between free improvisation and electronic music.

Clever and smart ideas run through Murmuration like a golden thread and the intuitive playing attitude of the band makes the album lively. A dazzling band sound is the motivation and objective for Bernhard Meyer. Innovation and form are the important parameters thereby. The album title references the spectacular flights of starlings, where the complex interconnectedness and densification fascinates all people and still poses riddles to science.

“I’ve had the pictures of these swarms in mind for quite some time, as a synonym for a band that can fluently and unpredictably vary delicate structures and textures,” Bernhard Meyer says. His band may not reach the volume of a swarm in numbers, but their diversity of sound surpasses the expectations a quintet usually generates. Meyer’s Murmuration mesmerizes the listener just like the swarms of starlings its observers.

1. Just Like John 08:19

2. Radiance 05:38

3. Dark Flow 06:50

4. Growl 07:09

5. Aphir 03:36

6. Plain Air 06:18

7. Unchild 05:20

8. Wooden 05:50

9. Corus 06:14

10. Shields 05:23

Bernhard Meyer Website

Shake Stew - Rise And Rise Again (LAUB RECORDS April 6, 2018)

SHAKE STEW is Austria‘s jazz band of the hour. After playing more than 25 gigs during the first months since premiering at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2016 and selling out their first record „The Golden Fang“ within half a year, the unique septet is conquering the music world with a hypnotic mixture of afrobeat and jazz grooves shaken up by the intense and mysterious soundscapes created with a combination of two drummers and two double bass players! With „Rise And Rise Again“ Shake Stew are releasing their highly anticipated second album in May 2018, which also features Shabaka Hutchings on 2 of the tracks. Everywhere they went so far, the press has been more than enthusiastic, often trying to create new terms and genre-labels to put their live experiences into words and this new release will only further establish their status as one of Europe's most upcoming Jazzbands.

Shake Stew brings together seven unconventional musicians, all of them interesting characters of the young Austrian and German jazz scene. They are united with bandleader Kranzelbinder (1988) by the pursuit of new, enhanced sound possibilities and by concepts beyond boundaries of genre, which are by now already considered a guarantee with Kranzelbinder. His own distinct combination of virtuosity, entertainment and uncompromising energy comes out in many of his projects and has meanwhile become a kind of trademark of the hard working musician, composer, and arranger.

As the youngest musician so far in the history of the prestigious Jazzfestival Saalfelden, he was chosen to put together a new project for the festivals opening concert in 2016, which is also connected with a 4 day residency. He put together a septet and prepared the festival show for a whole year, before not only recording the debut album “The Golden Fang” within a day of the residency but also playing a concert to remember: Der Standard from Vienna describes the septet’s performance as a „magical opening hour“, to the Kurier Shake Stew sounds „like an intergalactic road movie for the ears.“ The Süddeutsche Zeitung calls the bassist and composer Kranzelbinder a whizz kid and the OÖN added: „The 28-year-old writes fantastic pieces, which optimally feature the exciting instrumentation with its three-part horn section and two basses and drummers“.

From this point on Shake Stew was on a unique journey. In their 6 month residency as a Stage Band they managed to sell out Viennas biggest jazz club Porgy & Bess for every show, developing and presenting a new program at each of their performances. When Kranzelbinder invited Shabaka Hutchings for one of the evenings, the musical and spiritual connection between Shake Stew and the Tenor Wizard was felt almost immediately. Right after a 4 day tour they went into the studio and recorded an album that reflects the many musical souls that lie within this group of musicians.

During the course of 6 tracks “Rise And Rise Again” reveals as many different energies as musical influences, always taking the listener by surprise with the vast possibilities of instrumentation that this young group offers between its members. “Everytime I was playing a live show with Shake Stew, I felt that this band has the power to send out a very strong musical energy to the audience.

So I wanted to create an album that people can put on to get six different kind of tracks, each with a unique energy, lifting them to different levels so that they can rise with the music as well as fall down and land softly with it – only to rise again and drift away to a different place once again. Basically you can choose the kind of track that fits to your current mood or the mood you want to be taken too. For me, only the power of music can do that.” Behind this idea stands a band that works on the highest level of musical skills. Driven and relentless beats set off this record, with “Dancing in the Cage of a Soul” slowly introducing each instrument but soon developing into a jubilant anthem that sets off a spirited tenor saxophone solo by Johannes Schleiermacher rising above the shivery rhythm section. “How We See Things” fully utilizes the spectrum of acoustic possibilities by using Shabaka Hutchings as a guest and therefore having three tenor saxophones playing a theme above a tranquilizing and addictive pattern played by both double basses that reflects the strong influence of african music in the composers cosmos.

At the time trumpet player Mario Rom starts to take the listener under his spell with a beautifully ruminant solo, any kind of resistance is already futile. Featuring his soloists with lengthy and excessive spots to fully express themselves is a notable trademark of Kranzelbinders compositions and with “Goodbye Johnny Staccato” he wrote a theme tailor-made for tenor saxophonist Schleiermacher. Referring to a TV show about a detective/jazz musician in the late 60ies this piece of music unravels all kinds of musical layers during its twelve minute tour de force, including reminiscences of old soundtracks and Italian restaurants. The 2 parts of “Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight” then reflect the dynamic journey that Shake Stew is capable of, with two double basses setting up a vast space for the trumpet to develop a captivating solospot. As soon as the rhythm section gets going with intelligent use of the three available bassdrums in “Get Up Eight” and the horns start another praising, nearly gospel-like chorus you can feel the presence of Shakaba Hutchings growing with each bar.

His solo starts on top of two basses laying down a virtuosic carpet of interlocking sixteen notes and from there on you already guess the highly energetic climax this journey is bound to. With the most stand out song of this album being at the end, “No Sleep My King” feels like an epilogue that – once you lost yourself in its vibe – fully lets you drift away on the repetitive bassline, the moroccan field recordings or the remarkable alto solo by Clemens Salesny.

1. Dancing in the Cage of a Soul

2. How We See Things (feat. Shabaka Hutchings)

3. Goodbye Johnny Staccato

4. Fall Down Seven Times...

5. Get Up Eight (feat. Shabaka Hutchings)

6. No Sleep My King?

Lukas Kranzelbinder - Double Bass, Electric Bass

Clemens Salesny - Alto & Tenor Saxophone

Mario Rom - Trumpet

Johannes Schleiermacher - Tenor Saxophone

Manuel Mayr - Double Bass, Electric Bass

Niki Dolp - Drums, Percussion

Mathias Koch - Drums, Percussion

Special Guest: 

Shabaka Hutchings - Tenor Saxophone (Track 2 & 5)

All compositions written by Lukas Kranzelbinder

All tracks recorded on April 23 + 24 at 4tune audio production by Werner Angerer

Mixing by Werner Angerer

Mastering by Martin Siewert

Photography by Andreas Waldschuetz

Shirt Artwork by Luna Ghisetti

Graphic Design by die Kaz

www.shakestew.com