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Here is a great recording. Sometimes the feeling of the music is grave, sometimes it dances.
Each track has its recurrent phrases, an underlying pulse with flowing rhythmic overlays. The balanced timbres of piano, percussion, bass clarinet or saxophone are rich and orchestral; no dissonance breaks the spell.
These modal explorations are minimalistic, holistic, gestaltic, self-evolving, and utterly fascinating. These are adventures in sound.
Neither the musicians nor the listeners know where the music is headed. There is no theme, no prearranged coda.
Nik Bärtsch observes, "Being an agile organism, our band makes decisions on phrasing, tension and musical direction in a fraction of a second." Thus, with the jazz spirit of improvisation, the spontaneity of a programmed John Cage composition, and the agile awareness of a falcon in flight, the musicians become our spiritual guides of the momentous moment. Be patient, Grasshopper, for your ears will dance and your heart will soar.
This become obvious minutes into the second track, when the hypnotic ambience is traded for groovy 6-string electric bass lines atop a killer piano vamp and an even more lethal phat hi-hat/snare hits. .if they were signed to ECM. Adding to this dimension is the sound of the bass clarinet, grooving in a way not heard since the days of the Mwandishi recordings. One of the top 5 releases of the decade.shoulder to shoulder with Claudia Quintet's equally captivating For. Loosely conceptualized around six piano based modules, this is far from your usual atmospheric driven ECM sound. Definitely Eicher's trademark production is still present here, but there is less emphasis on space while leaning more towards the improvised jams one associates with say 70s jazz-rock experiments. Brilliant.
CREO QUE LOS QUE SOMOS SEGUIDORES DEL SELLO ECM BUSCAMOS ALGO DIFERENTE U ORIGINAL CUANDO ADQUIRIMOS UN CD. SI USTED DISFRUTA DE LA AMALGAMA DE DIVERSOS GENEROS MUSICALES "HOLON" ES UNA BUENA OPCION. ELEMENTOS DEL FUNK, DEL JAZZ Y DEL WORLD MUSIC SE FUSIONAN Y DESARROLLAN DESDE UN PUNTO DE VISTA MINIMALISTA. SIMPLEMENTE MAGNIFICO.
Llegué a escuchar a Nik Bärtsch por mera casualidad. Simplemente, encargué el disco a ECM en Alemania. Me gustó la carátula y el nombre «Ronin», «Holon».La sorpresa fue grande al escucharlo en el Mac.Sonidos que parecen mezclar a Steve Reich y a Weather Report.Ritmos y motivos que se entrelazan subrepticiamente, en una construcción matemática.Un in crescendo en espiral.Todo mezclado, con lo que otros críticos ya han repetido, un aire zen permea sus composiciones.Personalidad, carácter y tremenda originalidad hacen de este disco una revelación.ECM ha dado en el clavo, nuevamente.
Not quite sure what kind of music this is. A bit jazz and a bit Philip Glass minimalism. Still, end result is that at the end of the album I hit repeat, gotta hear this strange stuff again. My ear and brain are addicted.
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