|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
KRY 005LP
|
After the first wave of artists that have broken the ice with their way of combining contemporary symphonic music with electronica and jazz on the European side (Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Max Richter), now there is a new generation of young musician breaking boundaries on a new level, especially in Germany. These 20-25-year-olds don't just imitate what the bigger names in the scene have done but develop the style in a totally different way, adding new ideas instead of just copying what's come before. This new wave of artists have a huge musical knowledge, have studied at the best music academies, learned to play "classical" instruments and know how to improvise on a very high level. They have been raised in two different worlds, studying the history of (contemporary) classical music and also being influenced by what's happening in electronica over the last 25 years. Ralph Heidel is one of these new kids; coming from Munich, the 25-year-old studied saxophone and composition at the Munich Academy Of Music (think Julliard or Berklee). He graduated in 2018, learning everything about the music of composers like Ives, Schnittke, or Ligeti. At the same time he grew up with the music of producers like Alvo Noto, Boards Of Canada, Jon Hopkins, and others. He also comes from a family of jazz musicians and has grown up listening to the collection of his father. In his own music all this comes together. Moments Of Resonance is seven compositions full of brilliant little ideas, harmonic complexity, unheard music surprises, clever citations, dramatic evolutions, big explosive moments, meditative moments, and euphoric high points. This album is an emotional work of art for strings, saxophone, drums, bass and electronics. Heidel and his seven-piece ensemble Homo Ludens connect contemporary chamber music with electronica, ambient, post-rock and avant-garde jazz. Everything is composed and improvised; nothing is sampled. One will find wild punk-jazz parts that recall Zorn or Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as romantic passages that recall European impressionistic composers like Ravel or Debussy. But nothing is imitated, everything gets broken up through an expressive new way of using harmonization and melodic composing. Sometimes the band flies through an ambient and drone universe but one moment later the music evolves into an explosive, impossible-to-describe musical moment. 180 gram vinyl; includes printed inner sleeve.
|