jasonk
Never thought I'd hear a group that could pull off sounding like a mix of Phil Niblock & the Deep Listening Band. Now I have. Tripticks is a label to watch.
KM28 is a registration of a Pitch concert in their hometown Berlin, in their favorite borough: Neukoelln, and their favorite venue: KM28. After having played in Poland the night before they’re warmed up, slightly hung over, and very ready to play this new repertoire to a, Covid-restricted, sold-out house.
The musical material delves deeper into Just Intonation and, for the first time, uses subgroups (solos, duos, trios) in a substantial way, to create a richer palette for the whole performance. In parts eschewing the otherwise quite dominant Harmona organ for an in depth listen to the timbres of scordatura tuned, plucked, bass harmonics, clarinet multiphonics blended with Just Intonation vibraphone, home-made, manipulated tape echo and a variety of computer-generated sine tone textures.
Included in this set, played as one long hypnotizing suite, are a new JI version of the classic ‘Frozen Surface’ piece and a reworking of a recent Pitch and String Quartet ‘Pillars’ piece.
This is truly a comprehensive aural picture of The Pitch in late 2020.
///
The Pitch is a Berlin-based ensemble founded in 2009
Boris Baltschun - JI organ, sines
Koen Nutters - upright bass
Morten Joh - JI electric vibes, cassette tape delay
Michael Thieke - clarinet
With acoustic instruments and minimal live-electronics they collectively compose structures which generate hypnotic melodic movement and deep acoustic textures. Bowed and struck vibraphone tones resonate with bowed bass harmonics, doubled by clarinet and reinforced by organ and sine tones. An intensely focused performance creates an atmosphere where the listener's perception is slowed down to make the smallest sonic details move from background to foreground. The group continually expands into new terrain of musical material and playing styles inspired by fundamental states of matter (and variations thereof) - frozen surfaces, gaseous states, plasmatic fibrils, liquid patterns and molecular motion.
Intensely colourful, shifting densities, concentrated, slowly-shifting patterns and fluctuations.
credits
released July 16, 2021
Stereo recording made by David Walker
at Karl-Marx-Straße 28 on October 2nd, 2020
Mastered by Taku Unami
Cover photography by Udo Siegfriedt
Graffiti by bOb
All pieces composed, played, and extended upon by The Pitch.
Sweet noisy avant-garde jazz with a rocky edge and a punk spirit, not to mention plenty of non-standard instrumentation and a good sense of humour. DoomZappo
A fearless cult figure from New England's underground scene, Sawyer's no-fi experiments with everyday objects and body sounds are greatly rewarding to those who have the patience and curiosity to give them a chance. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 20, 2017
Simply amazing to hear a new album with Wadada and Ewart!! ...And Reed rounds out this trio beautifully.
Just gave it my first spin. Absolutely magical. jeffrey maurer