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ZKR 1101CD
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An astonishing meeting of two instrumentalists: Kasper T. Toeplitz (electric bass) and Reinhold Friedl (piano), but even more undoubtedly a musical union between two composers: the music is clearly built on a double thought of the architecture of time, of the creation, disappearance and mutation of textures much more than on classical virtuosity, an adequacy to the organological principles of the instruments. Piano and electric bass. Both musicians have left the familiar paths of their instruments to make them the tools of their compositional principles. This opens up new possibilities -- which here extend to the finest level of sound textures. As Laurent Nerzic turned it in the renowned French music journal Revue&corrigée #136: "This piano/electric bass duo offers us two hours of menacing music. I invite you to listen carefully to the roundness of Kasper's bass, particularly at the end of the first piece, which suddenly takes a less abstract and unexpected turn, while Reinhold's piano regularly strikes up a sustained funeral march. Two hours of organic music that never ceases to grow and diminish in perpetual motion. In any case, this disc is overflowing with finesse, richness and subtlety."
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ZKR 028CD
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zeitkratzer director Reinhold Friedl and his ensemble present new compositions, grounded on Domenico Scarlatti's piano sonata F-minor K.466. Commissioned by the dance company Rubato and dedicated to Mario Bertoncini (1932-2019). Little is known about Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). His music is, so to speak, left to its own devices: free, cheeky, playful, sonorous, surprising. Harmonically strolling again and again into unforeseen regions, the ear leads, not the theory; and also, the fingers get their right: playful and haptic it goes. Scarlatti explained, "since nature has given me ten fingers and my instrument provides employment for all, I see no reason why I should not use all ten of them." Freedom, friction, and listening pleasure instead of convention: "He knew quite well that he had disregarded all the rules of composition in his piano pieces, but asked whether his deviation from the rules offended the ear? He believes there is almost no other rule than that of not offending the only sense whose object is music -- the ear." Reinhold Friedl applied this principle and composed the music for a choreography by dance company Rubato. Dance music drawn from Scarlatti, who was so inspired by dance music. The material of the piano sonata F-minor K.466 is twisted anew in all its richness, shifted back and forth, declined, frozen, noise-ified, sound structures extracted, floating. Those who know the sonata, will more than smell its shadows. Dedicated to Mario Bertoncini (Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza) who was particularly fond of K.466, on which all the music presented here is grounded.
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ZKR 027CD
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KRAFFT for orchestra was composed in 2016 as a commission of the French State, and was premiered in Paris and Marseille, France. The composition has a similar kind of metric structure as String Quartet No.3: all instruments play in rhythmic unison throughout. KRAFFT is an ironic-onomatopoetic wrong spelling of the German term "Kraft", meaning "power" or "force". The listener should feel exposed to a sonic undertow. The notion of huge power and force is often connected to the existence of clandestine and unknown rules controlling the world around us; something is happening, but we do not know exactly what, when or how. KRAFFT enforces textural listening as Richard Wood described it "an unwinding strip of 'texture': just listen to that; not to its various strands as such, not to one single strand, but to it as a whole, an unwinding ribbon, varying as it goes in width, in colour, in depth, in thickness, in weight, in character, but always a unity." KRAFFT is composed with the help of the computer program TTM (Textural Transformation Machine), developed by the Friedl to sculpture multiple random processes. It has been programmed by Sukandar Kartadinata.
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ZKR 025CD
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Zeitkratzer keeps on being good for a surprise and finally goes jazz! Looking at the line-up of the "modern composition supergroup" (The Wire) it seems astonishing that it took so long: Saxophonists Frank Gratkowski and Hayden Chisholm both won independently the German radio SWR Jazz award, the French horn virtuoso Hild Sofie Tafjord grew up with jazz, as her father and uncle are members of Norwegian jazz group Brazz Brothers, Hilary Jeffery toured with numerous jazz musicians, as did drummer Maurice de Martin who spent his early years in the New York downtown scene. Reinhold Friedl studied piano with Alexander von Schlippenbach, and Ulrich Phillipp is a known improviser who toured with Charles Gayle -- and Zeitkratzer is joined by a second bass player: Martin Heinze, member the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The idea for The Shape of Jazz to Come arose, when Zeitkratzer met the outstanding Swedish singer Mariam Wallentin at a festival in France. Wallentin is most known for her solo and duo projects Mariam the Believer and Wildbirds & Peacedrums but also as a jazz musician: she is a member of Mats Gustafsson's Fire! Orchestra and was already awarded the Swedish Jazz Prize. Zeitkratzer and Mariam Wallentin now together present a tribute to great jazz musicians from Sweet Emma Barrett to Muhal Richard Abrams. The release opens with Muhal Richard Abrams's incredible "Bird Song", one of the rare jazz compositions including live-electronics. "Bird Song" sounds like real Zeitkratzer: raw, direct, urgent, the sounds mirrored on a huge hall plate. "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" was composed by Lil Hardin Armstrong, Louis Armstrong's first wife. It was so successful that he even tried to claim the authorship but lost in court. Zeitkratzer and Mariam Wallentin here perform it in a funny contemporary Dixieland version, directly leading to the sad classic "Cry Me A River". Crying instruments support Wallentin's expressive voice. Sweet Emma Barrett's "Jelly Roll Blues" becomes as crunchy and brutal as it's words and message promote: a noise-blues, stomping, atonal, and belligerent. In "Strange Fruit", Mariam Wallentin's voice reflects the brutality and deep sadness, supported by Lisa Marie Landgraf's bitterly scratching violin solo. Geri Allen's "Drummer Song" finally is a fast-forward tribute to modern jazz: small explosions, sophisticated rhythms and licks, improvised group culminations, while "My Funny Valentine" is tactfully reduced to its famous melody and a chromatic bass line. Recorded live at Festival Sacrum Profanum in Krakow, Poland.
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ZKR 026CD
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Second volume of "modern composition supergroup" (The Wire) Zeitkratzer's re-interpretations of early compositions by electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. In more than two decades Zeitkratzer has created an astonishing broad catalog from the obligatory (20th century avant-garde composers like Cage or Stockhausen) to the unexpected (electronic artists such as Carsten Nicolai, Terre Thaemlitz, or underground experimentalists like Throbbing Gristle and Keiji Haino) but hardly anyone was prepared for the ensemble's choice of early Kraftwerk pieces. When volume one was released in 2017 (ZKR 021CD/KR 035LP), Zeitkratzer founder and director Reinhold Friedl announced that there'll be a volume two of course -- and here it is. From the opening drone-y horns of "Harmonika" to the subtle guitar of the album closer "Wellenlänge", the four tracks own all the interpretory and aesthetic acerbity the ensemble is known and praised for. The first album made it immediately into The Wire's "Office Ambience" playlist and Bandcamp Daily's "Best Contemporary Classical Releases". Recorded live at Hellerau, European Centre for the Arts, Dresden in January 2019, Performs Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk 2" and "Kraftwerk" delivers the compositions that were still missing to complete Zeitkratzer's stunning take on the early, hybrid kraut-esque electronic avantgarde albums Kraftwerk (1970) and Kraftwerk 2 (!972). Mission accomplished! A must-have. Personnel: Reinhold Friedl - direction; Frank Gratkowski - flute, clarinets; Hayden Chisholm - flute, saxophone; Hild Sofie Tajford - French horn; Hilary Jeffery - trombone; Reinhold Friedl - harmonium, piano; Didier Aschour - guitar; Maurice de Martin - drums; Lisa Marie Landgraf - violin; Biliana Voutchkova - violin; Elisabeth Coudoux - violoncello; Ulrich Phillipp - doublebass. CD version comes on digipak.
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ZKR 024CD
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Zeitkratzer with Terre Thaemlitz, performing live renditions of Terre Thaemlitz's "Deproduction 不産主義". Performed at Haus Der Berliner Festspiele March 19, 2018, Maerzmusik Festival for Time Issues, 2018. Personnel: Elisabeth Coudoux (violoncello, voice); Nora Krahl (violoncello, voice); Martin Heinze (double bass); Reinhold Friedl (piano, voice); Maurice De Martin (percussion, voice); Frank Gratkowski (clarinets); Hilary Jeffery (trombone); Hild Sofie Tafjord (French horn); Elena Kakaliagou (French horn); Terre thaemlitz (guest voice).
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ZKR 021CD
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Zeitkratzer celebrate their 20th anniversary with necessary re-interpretations of early compositions by electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Founded in 1997 by Reinhold Friedl, Zeitkratzer have since been creating an impressive catalog of recordings that embraces 20th century avant-garde composers (Cage, Stockhausen, Lucier) as well as electronic artists (Carsten Nicolai, Terre Thaemlitz) or underground experimentalists like Throbbing Gristle or Column One. In their 20th anniversary year, the critically acclaimed ensemble will release a series of diverse albums that will explore new grounds in the typical, adventurous Zeitkratzer way - the first of these albums is dedicated to Kraftwerk and their early, kraut-esque albums Kraftwerk (1970) and Kraftwerk 2 (1972). As Kraftwerk never re-released these albums, Zeitkratzer gave its best to cover the first tranche of the songs. Recorded in Marseille/France in May 2016, the six tracks reveal a bucolic and even psychedelic aspect of the ensemble that's mostly known (or feared) for its interpretative and aesthetic acerbity. And yet there's no doubt that Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk" And "Kraftwerk 2" is a true Zeitkratzer recording in the best and fullest meaning. Zeitkratzer directed by Reinhold Friedl are: Frank Gratkowski - flute, clarinets; Elena Kakaliagou - french horn; Hilary Jeffery - trombone; Reinhold Friedl - harmonium, piano; Didier Ascour - guitar; Maurice de Martin - drums; Lisa Marie Landgraf - violin; Burkhard Schlothauer - violin; Elisabeth Coudoux - violoncello; Ulrich Phillipp - double bass.
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ZKR 019CD
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The third collaboration between Keiji Haino, one of the most prolific artists of the Japanese experimental/noise scene, and the critically acclaimed zeitkratzer ensemble, comprising stunning interpretations of Stockhausen compositions. When Keiji Haino heard zeitkratzer rehearsing for their Stockhausen performance at the Ruhrtriennale festival, he spontaneously decided to join the group for that part of the program, in addition to the collaborative performance that was released in 2014 as zeitkratzer + Keiji Haino (ZKR 018CD) and Live at Jahrhunderthalle Bochum (KR 017LP). In the Stockhausen performance, Haino focuses on his voice while zeitkratzer creates the instrumental environment, applying their amplified extended techniques and unique skills as musicians. The ensemble proves its outstanding quality once again, having already earned its reputation with recordings of works by Throbbing Gristle, John Cage (ZKR 009CD, 2010), Alvin Lucier (ZKR 011CD, 2010), and Lou Reed (Metal Machine Music) (ZKR 016CD/KR 016LP, 2014) and collaborations with Carsten Nicolai aka Alva Noto (ZKR 004CD, 2008), Terre Thaemlitz (ZKR 005CD, 2008), and others. Aus den sieben Tagen features five pieces from Stockhausen's collection of 15 text compositions, composed in May 1968 in reaction to a personal crisis. Stockhausen characterized the pieces as "intuitive music" -- music primarily played by intuition rather than by the intellect of the performer(s), without a single defined note. zeitkratzer and Keiji Haino demonstrate beyond any doubt that they know how to use this free interpretive space. zeitkratzer, directed by Reinhold Friedl: Frank Gratkowski, clarinet; Hild Sofie Tafjord, French horn; Hilary Jeffery, trombone; Reinhold Friedl, piano; Maurice de Martin, drums and percussion; Marc Weiser, acoustic noise; Burkhard Schlothauer, violin; Anton Lukoszevieze, violoncello; Ulrich Phillipp, double bass. Keiji Haino, voice.
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ZKR 020CD
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Reinhold Friedl and his zeitkratzer ensemble perform Friedl's Kore, an homage to Greek-French composer Iannis Xenakis. A natural advancement of Friedl's composition Xenakis [A]Live!, released in 2007 by Asphodel, Kore was conceived for nine amplified instruments, demonstrating zeitkratzer's well-established tradition of instrumental amplification (e.g. its early collaborations with Zbigniew Karkowski and Merzbow and its 2010s collaborations with William Bennett of Whitehouse (including ZKR 017CD/KR 019LP, 2014)) in which amplification not only makes things louder but also offers a microscopic perspective on sound that situates acoustic microsounds in a completely new context. References to seminal Xenakis tape compositions like Persepolis and La Légende d'Eer are audible in the materials, textures, densities, and sound masses performed by zeitkratzer, with a physical quality that creates a huge sonic architecture. Recorded live in January 2013 during the klub katarakt festival in Hamburg, Kore adds a stunning chapter to zeitkratzer's audacious catalog and a new sort of intensity to contemporary chamber music. This zeitkratzer lineup includes Frank Gratkowski, winner of the German SWR Jazz Prize; Norwegian French horn player Hild Sofie Tafjord, also known for her noise duo with Maja Ratkje; British trombonist Hilary Jeffery, who has toured with Jimi Tenor among others; Marc Weiser, cofounder of Berlin's CTM Festival; and bassist Martin Heinze, from the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. Rashad Becker was responsible for sound and recording. zeitkratzer, directed by Reinhold Friedl: Frank Gratkowski, clarinet; Hild Sofie Tafjord, French horn; Hilary Jeffery, trombone; Reinhold Friedl, piano; Marc Weiser, guitar; Maurice de Martin, drums and percussion; Burkhard Schlothauer, violin; Anton Lukoszevieze, violoncello; Martin Heinze, doublebass. Mixed and mastered by Ralf Meinz.
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ZKR 017CD
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William Bennett, the musical mastermind of the band Whitehouse has already worked with Zeitkratzer on several occasions. And he also appears on the first track of this CD. Recorded live at the festival Musique Action in Nancy, France, you can get an impression of how the deep bass frequencies -- produced by the huge orchestra drum, at some points as well by the beaten bass strings of the piano or by subtones of the horns -- would vibrate the floor of the venue. At the same time high piping sounds, amplified violin harmonics, and bitten clarinet tones attack the listener. A music with crystal-clear or even neurosurgical precision. And one can hear voices all over -- distorted from being spoken through a trombone or a French horn -- phantom voices in the density of the sounds, etc. No electronic effects are used -- it's pure acoustic power! Press on the first collaboration with Whitehouse: Vital Weekly: "Excellent work. A total racket." The Wire even became addicted: "You squirm in your seat, unsure of why you're listening, yet still you hang on for more." While Radio France was just blown away: "La fureur et la chaleur! ...hors norme!" Zeitkratzer: directed by Reinhold Friedl: Frank Gratkowski (clarinets); Hild Sofie Tafjord (French horn); Hilary Jeffery (trombone); Reinhold Friedl (piano); Tony Buck (percussion); Lisa Marie Landgraf (violin); Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello); Uli Phillipp (double bass); William Bennett (voice, [01]).
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ZKR 018CD
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On his second release with Zeitkratzer, Keiji Haino concentrates solely on his voice. No electronics are used except for amplification. Nevertheless, this live recording is even more radical than the first one. Radical is the concentration on the very limited but frenetic musical material, worked out in detail, which is rarely heard in the noise context -- enabling Keiji Haino to sit on it, fly over, to merge or just to oppose. Zeitkratzer's amplified instruments, played with extended techniques as developed by the group and its outstanding musicians over more than a decade and Haino's incredible richness in voice timbres and noises complement each other perfectly. It's one of the closest and most natural cooperations Zeitkratzer ever had. Wild and beautiful. Shouting, scratching, screaming, piping, chattering, crying, rumbling, oscillating, roaring, clashing, juttering, tinkling, singing, ... and at the end, it's hilarious, powerful music, pure noise and pure melody. As the Chicago Reader noted: "The supernova finally occurs!" and The Wire agreed: "A real highlight, with Zeitkratzer enfolding Keiji Haino in its grasp like some tentacular kraken of the deep. Haino effectively becomes another member of the group." Rock-a-Rolla cheered: "Forceful and utterly compelling!" Nothing left to say than: listen! Zeitkratzer is directed by Reinhold Friedl: Frank Gratkowski (clarinets); Hild Sofie Tafjord (French horn); Hilary Jeffery (trombone); Reinhold Friedl (piano); Marc Weiser (acoustic noises); Maurice de Martin (percussion); Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello); + Keiji Haino (voice); Recorded live at Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, Ruhrtriennale. Recorded & mixed by Martin Wurmnest . Mastered by Rashad Becker.
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ZKR 016CD
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About 10 years after their first, critically-acclaimed performances of Lou Reed's adventurous album, Zeitkratzer presents an audacious new interpretation of this 20th century avant-garde classic. Here, for the first time ever, all four parts of Metal Machine Music, played by Zeitkratzer on one recording. This new version of Metal Machine Music is even more transparent, instrumentally pure and radical than the shortened 2007 release. Live recordings from concerts in Rome and Reggio Emilia, Italy, mixed and mastered by Rashad Becker. A real sound experience! After their first performances in 2002 (documented on the 2007 CD release on Asphodel), Zeitkratzer gave Reed's album a new thorough listen and transcribed the sounds to create an acoustic score for the ensemble to play live. Those familiar with the oft-criticized two-disc album might wonder how they pulled this off, but they did, and their interpretation of the work brought it to the attention of a wider audience. It is therefore partly thanks to the Zeitkratzer version that Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music has been rediscovered as a classic of the 20th century. It was at the live performance with Zeitkratzer in Berlin that Lou Reed spoke for the first time in public about the musical details of his composition, in an interview with Diedrich Diedrichsen. Zeitkratzer was clearly ready for the challenges of performing Metal Machine Music live, and drew packed houses for their presentation of the work. This confirmed their assertion that rock'n'roll as serious contemporary music has been ignored for too long, in too arrogant a way. The relentless sound forces the mind to put aside its preconceptions about what music is supposed to sound like, or feel like, or look like. The brain starts to implode, or explode, or dissolve Zen-like into the controlled chaos of the performance, discovering a strange exhilaration, accepting an invitation to explore the outer reaches of texture and timbre, to experience a sonic freedom that's rare in any art form. These recordings from Metal Machine Music have become even more intense and worked out during the 10 years of Zeitkratzer playing it live at numerous international festivals -- contemporary music festivals, noise festivals, improvisation festivals -- it's impossible to limit this music to one genre. Metal Machine Music has gained a new quality of clarity, sound transparence and musical intensity. Real radical contemporary chamber noise music! These recordings from the Festival Romaeuropa in Rome and the Festival Aperto in Reggio Emilia (2012) present Zeitkratzer not only at their very best, the splendid mix by Rashad Becker also reveals new aspects of this 20th century avant-garde classic. Frank Gratkowski (clarinets); Matt Davis (trumpet); Hilary Jeffery (trombone); Reinhold Friedl (piano); Marc Weiser (guitar); Maurice de Martin (percussion); Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello); Uli Phillipp (double bass).
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ZKR 014CD
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Internationally-acclaimed ensemble Zeitkratzer tackles folk music on their project Neue Volksmusik (New Folk Music). Zeitkratzer approaches folk music in its essence: constant transformation. Genuine folk music is what it is due to an inherent state of flux, defined by its constantly changing nature. It is in fact an authentic practice for Zeitkratzer to claim different musical traditions, taking possession of them and forming them to fit specific ideas. This project started in 2009 when Zeitkratzer presented Volksmusik (ZKR 002CD), an anarchic ethno-musicological journey through the Danube valley. From heartrending group-yodeling to wild Balkan capers, the ensemble pulled out all the stops. Despite the somewhat brutal humor of the music, there is never an intention to fool around or make a satire on folk music. The previous folk music repertoire has been expanded for Neue Volksmusik with music traditions from Switzerland. Of course, Zeitkratzer does not treat this music in any less of a radical way than their other musical material. In "Alpen Horn Noise," (un)traditional alphorn sounds are combined with Romanian folk dance. Acoustic shadows of Bavarian/Austrian music merge with a droning, hurdy-gurdy like singing, suggesting a connection to the Balkan mountains. Musical traditions are tumbled together and meet each other in new ways. We hear some grotesque qualities of folk music, a music driven by cow bell percussion and a manic muezzin. Further on we hear group yodeling, which definitely turns every Alpine milk sour, but which also recalls the original function of shouting as a mountain signal. At the same time, Neue Volksmusik also includes contemplative and serious music. "Alpenrose" is dominated by uncanny body-less harmonic sounds, and the chords in "Alpsäge" float ethereally. All recorded live at the festival Alpentöne at the Vierwaldstätter lake in Switzerland.
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ZKR 012CD
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Recorded live on April 12, 2011 at Kino Siska, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and April 14, 2011 at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia. This is the fourth release in the Zeitkratzer Old School series. The first three CDs, dedicated to the music of John Cage, James Tenney and Alvin Lucier have been highly-acclaimed. This new release is dedicated to the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Karlheinz Stockhausen is one of the most outstanding composers of the 20th century. After his early, super-organized compositions as Gesang Der Jünglinge, Kontakte or Studien 1 and 2, he conceived his From The Seven Days works as a precisely-organized text composition. Not one single note is written, but it is exactly defined: what kind of material the musicians should choose and how they should play it. Length, tempi, etc., are not given. Zeitkratzer had the chance to work on this piece in Ljubljana in the Spring of 2011, and tried to develop their approach to interpret the texts as precisely as possible, in the traditional way of score-reading. As Stockhausen pointed out: "musical meditation is not sentimentality, but ultra alertness and -- in the lightest moments -- creative ecstasy." Set sail for the sun. Directed by Reinhold Friedl. Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello); Ulrich Phillipp (double bass); Reinhold Friedl (piano); Christian Lillinger (percussion); Frank Gratkowski (reeds); Hild Sofie Tafjord (French horn); Hilary Jeffery (trombone); Martin Wurmnest (sound). Mixed by Martin Wurmnest, mastered by Rashad Becker, produced by Reinhold Friedl.
"I do not want a spiritualistic session. I want music." --Karlheinz Stockhausen
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ZKR 013CD
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This is the first solo release by Zeitkratzer's mastermind Reinhold Friedl. He teaches the grand piano how to sing and to sound like an orchestra, calling this new way of playing an old instrument "Inside-Piano." Many listeners of Zeitkratzer releases do not recognize particular sounds that come from the piano and thus cannot identify it. After listening to this release, the source will become clear and they will get a new idea of the instrument. The good old grand piano plays aggressive noise attacks, choir-like symphonic movements, and strange, complex sound fibrillations, sometimes lighting up single prepared piano notes, juxtaposed with the tremendous bass of the nearly three-meter long strings. Recorded on a Steinway D concert piano at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, 2010. Published courtesy of Philharmonie Luxembourg. Piano: Steinway D-274, microphones: Neumann U87, Neumann KM184. Recorded by Ralf Meinz, mixed and mastered by Rashad Becker.
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ZKR 007CD
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William Bennett is one of the great pioneers of noise and industrial music. His influential project Whitehouse has become a worldwide reference. The music on this CD and the arrangements by Reinhold Friedl were worked out in close collaboration with William Bennett and the Zeitkratzer musicians. The compositions are short, very clear, and have an unbelievable impact, with precisely-defined harsh sounds. This music is an adventurous journey into the amplified acoustic noise of musical instruments. This project would not have been possible without the experience of Zeitkratzer in noise and sound music; for example, in their collaborations with Merzbow, Lou Reed, Zbigniew Karkowski or Keiji Haino. This CD is one of the most concentrated and cleanly-presented noise works Zeitkratzer has ever offered. All music recorded at Festival Les Musiques GMEM Marseille, France, May 14, 2009. Musicians include: Frank Gratkowski (clarinets), Matt Davis (trumpet), Hilary Jeffery (trombone), Reinhold Friedl (piano), Rhodri Davies (harp), Maurice De Martin (drums, percussion), Burkhard Schlothauer (violin), Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello), Ulrich Phillipp (double bass), Ralf Meinz (sound).
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ZKR 011CD
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Alvin Lucier is one of the most outstanding American minimalists -- he could be called a sound physician and his compositions regarded as acoustic research settings. Often, his pieces turn inside-out the inner properties of the room they are played in and the instrument that they are played on. Zeitkratzer had the chance to work with the composer in Dijon, France in 2008, and continued to work on and to program his music in different places. The Philharmonie in Luxembourg turned out to be the ideal space for recording. On this CD, you can hear how Lucier enables Zeitkratzer to create sounds most people have never heard before. Ringing overtones, a singing piano, a thrilling concert triangle, pencils on little objects, and how irritating a violoncello, a viola and a piano can sound together, creating sonic interferences. This music is not only a physical phenomenology, but becomes inherently a sensual listening experience. Directed by Reinhold Friedl. Musicians include: Burkhard Schlothauer (violin, viola, objects), Anton Lukoszevieze (violoncello, objects), Uli Phillipp (objects), Reinhold Friedl (piano, objects), Maurice de Martin (triangle, objects), Frank Gratkowski (objects), Hayden Chisholm (objects), Matt Davis (objects), Hilary Jeffery (objects) and Ralf Meinz (sound).
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ZKR 010CD
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International avant-garde ensemble Zeitkratzer continue their Old School series with a release dedicated to the work of American composer James Tenney. This CD presents a new recording of Critical Band -- Tenney's late classic -- with maximum clarity. Also included is the first recording of Harmonium #2. Both works demonstrate the remarkable power and resplendent sharpness which Tenney achieved by composing with pure tunings. Koan: Having Never Written A Note For Percussion, for tam-tam, completes this CD with an orgiastic listening experience in the form of a huge crescendo on this wonderfully simple instrument -- from whispering to singing, culminating in shrill roaring and blustering -- and its dark decay. Tenney's music as a sensual sound adventure! Directed by Reinhold Friedl. Musicians include: Frank Gratkowski (clarinet), Hayden Chisholm (alto saxophone), Matt Davis (trumpet), Hilary Jeffery (trombone), Reinhold Friedl (piano), Maurice de Martin (percussion), Burkhard Schlothauer (violin), Anton Lukoszevieze (cello), Uli Phillipp (double bass) and Ralf Meinz (sound). Recorded live at Philharmonie Luxembourg on October 3, 2009.
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ZKR 009CD
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John Cage's compositions have been part of Zeitkratzer's repertoire since the very first day. The pieces presented here justify Zeitkratzer's reputation as sound specialists. Avant-garde composer Cage is played in a conservative, precise and sensual way, apart from all philosophical ambitions, and hopefully as seductive as a Schubert quintet! Wire magazine acclaimed: "Zeitkratzer convinced us that Cage's music can still live with all its complexities, stripped of the debris of its iconic-ironic status, if we only give ourselves time, space and ears to hear!" Pieces performed: "Four6" (1992), "Five" (1988), "Hymnkus" (1986). Recorded live at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, UK, November 24, 2006. Performed by: Frank Gratkowski (bass clarinet, clarinet), Hayden Chisholm (clarinet), Franz Hautzinger (trumpet), Reinhold Friedl (piano), Maurice de Martin (percussion), Burkhard Schlothauer (violin), Anton Lukoszevieze (cello), Uli Phillipp (double bass) and Ralf Meinz (sound).
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3CD BOX
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ZKR 003CD
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The Zeitkratzer label releases a limited 3CD box documenting international avant-garde soloists ensemble Zeitkratzer, and their collaborations with groundbreaking electronic musicians spanning nearly a decade. This set collects all three previously-released Electronics recordings (ZKR 004CD/ZKR 005CD/ZKR 006CD), made in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Austria with non-academic electronic musician Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), electro-acoustic composer Terre Thaemlitz, and legendary Japanese noise artist Keiji Haino: three heroes of electronic music. This package includes a special 34-page textbook in German and English containing essays about the consequences of the ensemble's radical work: Diedrich Diederichsen on authorship, Elliott Sharp's "Zeitkratzer and the Myth of the End of Instruments," and Michael Iber on Zeitkratzer's unusual musical notation. Other essays by Tony Herrington (Wire), and Stefan Fricke. Zeitkratzer are: Frank Gratkowski (bass clarinet); Hayden Chisholm (bass clarinet); Franz Hautzinger (trumpet) Melvyn Poore (tuba); Reinhold Friedl (piano, inside-piano); Maurice De Martin (percussion); Burkhard Schlothauer (violin); Anton Lukoszevieze (cello); Ulrich Phillipp (double bass); Marc Weiser (analog electronics); Ralf Meinz (sound). Directed by Reinhold Friedl.
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ZKR 002CD
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The Zeitkratzer international soloists ensemble does their own take on Volksmusik: literally, the "people's music" of the Alpine regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc. However, Zeitkratzer comes up with their own sound, and their own interpretation, immersing themselves into folk music as still existing today, not some leftover phantom of older days and older traditions. To prepare for this material, they focused their research on the music of the Danube abutters and used every kind of found material that proposed itself for further use: waltz-reminiscences were inescapable, zither and dulcimer were tested for their capability to produce pure noise, and the trumpet sings the pure and naive overtones of mountain solitude. Influences from the lower Danube valley are felt within the pieces' rhythmical eruptions, with everything leading to a wonderful, free uprooting. Listen, be wild, enjoy! Der Standard newspaper in Vienna has high praise for the first performance at the Donaufestival: "It tested folk music from the Danube region by means of classical modernity and for its capacity for moments of humor." All music by Reinhold Friedl and Maurice De Martin.
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ZKR 001CD
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Berlin's Reinhold Friedl is a practitioner of the inside-piano technique and founder and director of the Zeitkratzer and Piano-Inside-Out ensembles. His piece, Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire -- Cheap Imitation is exactly what the title says: an endless funny parody of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire, a composition often taken far too seriously. At the same time, it is a compositional condensation of Schönberg's techniques, conducted in a genius way by trumpet player Franz Hautzinger from Vienna, a longtime-member of Zeitkratzer; sung by the soprano Marcus Weiser, who has succeeded already in Berlin as a singer under the name of Mark Markowitsch. Just fun, short and concentrated, as it should be connected to the second Vienna school. Commissioned by Wiener Festwochen, premiered at Konzerthaus Vienna. Recorded live at Donaufestival Krems, Austria, April 24, 2006.
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ZKR 004CD
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This is the first in a series of three releases on the Zeitkratzer label with each volume titled Electronics, which will be issued as a 3CD boxset as well, in 2009. This CD documents the cooperation between Zeitkratzer and Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), started nearly a decade ago; a cooperation between an avant garde ensemble and a non-academic electronic musician. The electronic music of Carsten Nicolai -- sometimes being of even crystal clearness and quality -- suddenly becomes sensual and physical through Zeitkratzer's amplified instrumental sounds. Inversely, Zeitkratzer sounds different, too: in "5 Min" the musicians play only electric sound generators: the humming of plugs, the peeping of the synchronized Zeitkratzer-clocks, white noise, the TV cheeping at 10 kHz. "Synchron Bitwave," the latest piece, is the most sensual and most warm; there are no other sounds larger than a small third and its electric derivates, finally leading to high, dabbed string spiccati. "C1" transfers electronically-conceived asymmetrical loops into a 19/16th rhythm. A strange undertow results, partly because of the pieces' grounding with merging, split sounds. Here, Carsten Nicolai virtually becomes metaphysical, perhaps even romantic. Zeitkratzer is: Frank Gratkowski (bass clarinet), Hayden Chisholm (bass clarinet), Franz Hautzinger (trumpet), Melvyn Poore (tuba), Reinhold Friedl (piano), Maurice de Martin (percussion), Burkhard Schlothauer (violin), Anton Lukoszevieze (cello), Ulrich Phillipp (double bass), Marc Weiser (electronics), and Ralf Meinz (sound), directed by Reinhold Friedl.
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ZKR 006CD
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Presenting a third volume of collaborative works between European avant garde ensemble Zeitkratzer and modern electronic composers. On this release, Zeitkratzer cooperates with legendary Japanese noise artist, Keiji Haino. The Berliner Zeitung had the following to say about this mind-melting collaboration: "They had only rehearsed for three days, but the result was mind-blowing. Haino made music on the guitar and on the drums, on electronic devices, on two Theremins and with his wonderfully changeable tenor; Zeitkratzer infolded him, pushed him away, embedded him in noise and carried him through the sound space like on atomizing waves. Only one thing did not exist: the reconciliation between the soloist and his ensemble, which would have denied the differences in traditions and styles; the greatness of the sound, the richness of his textures was a result purely of the contrast and its dynamic."
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ZKR 005CD
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Presenting a second volume of collaborative works between European avant garde ensemble Zeitkratzer and modern electronic composers. Terre Thaemlitz developed the present pieces for and with Zeitkratzer. The starting points were Thaemlitz' releases Means From An End and Couture Cosmetique, which show him as an electroacoustic composer with an amazing sensibility for sound and harsh cutting techniques. This is especially evident on "Sloppy 42nds," and moreover, Thaemlitz' filtering techniques are transformed into a complex, nearly surrealistic instrumental sound on "Superbonus." Thaemlitz' provenance as a New York underground DJ is recalled, as well as his political engagement on tracks such as "Down Home Kami-Sakunobe" and "Hobo Train." On this CD, you will find the most pop-oriented music -- including references to dance and house -- Zeitkratzer has ever released! But don't forget to listen to the longest and main work on this release, hidden as "Superbonus."
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