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01. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - exhalation
02. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - inhalation
03. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - holding
04. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - suspense
05. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - relief
06. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - breath
07. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - game
08. Niklas Fite & Gunter Christmann - felt
ARTIST
TITLE
insisting
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
CVSD 111CD CVSD 111CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
8/30/2024

Two brilliant improvisers, two distinct generations, one close-listening encounter. Swedish guitarist (and, elsewhere, banjo player) Niklas Fite brings a flinty intimacy to his playing, a dry punch that reminds us that the guitar is a percussion instrument. One of the great figures in European improvised music, based in Hannover, Germany, Günter Christmann gained notoriety as a trombonist starting in the very early 1970s, but he was equally engaged in playing double bass and cello and has in recent years devoted himself mainly to the latter. On insisting, Christmann plays cello exclusively. Together, on eight tracks, the two players delve deeply into their collective sound spectrum, exploring timbre and timing, dynamics and dissonance. Like the different iterations of Christmann's variable ensemble Vario (one of which CvsD has documented on the CD Vario 34-3), this is music with intensity and integrity, hardcore improvised music, action-packed minute gestures concentrated within a sweeping overall field of sound and energy. Recorded over two days in 2019.

A statement from Niklas Fite: "the breath is of essential importance in great music. music that never gives that moment of exhalation -- of relief -- suffocates the listener. on the other hand: music that only exhales will also suffocate the listener. the inhalation -- the buildup of energy -- and the exhalation -- the release -- is the game we want to play. and perhaps more importantly: the correct timing of these, which can never be calculated or analyzed, but only felt. a third, and very important aspect of breath in music is the holding of the breath. to freeze in suspense, in anticipation of what will come, and in reflection of that which has been. these are sensations that can be felt in great music, but the truth of the music is far more complex than what I so far have described, and probably more complex than anyone can describe."