How does cultural diversity sound in the 21st century? The German composer Helge Burggrabe asked himself this question and with HUMAN he gave his personal musical answer. Together with the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, the British conductor Duncan Ward, Elbtonal Percussion and the Canadian pianist John Kameel Farah, the orchestral composition HUMAN was recorded in summer 2020. The work focuses on social themes and areas of tension such as life & death, home & foreign countries and love & loss, inspired by the idea of "human rights" and the commitment to more freedom, justice and peace in the world.

Some 50 years ago composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley were responsible for one of the last great radical changes in twentieth-century music. They liberated contemporary music from the dogmatic clutches of serialism and gave it a new simplicity of compositional structure and harmony, repetitive elements and an uncompromising reduction of the musical material. Hence “Minimal Music” became timeless in two senses: like a perpetuum mobile, once set in motion it appears to be able to remain endlessly in motion from within, and develops in the process an almost psychedelic pull that knows neither beginning nor end. At the same time, with its patterns, loops and drones, it smoothed the path for genres like ambient, techno and post-rock. On this release, rather than relying on digital sound, Kai Schumacher treats the concert grand as a fully analogue synthesizer, applying preparations and sound processing to what is surely the most classical of all instruments to generate apparently electronic sound worlds in the space between drum-machine and the Wall of Sound.

Pascal Schumacher's new album LUNA is in complete contrast to his previous release SOL, and it's not just the play with contrasting album titles that points to the different moods of brightness and darkness. Both releases also come from different creative viewpoints. While SOL offered a sense of spontaneous discovery as Schumacher embarked on his first solo endeavor with the vibraphone after years of playing with bands and ensembles, LUNA captures a more contemplative side of Schumacher's work. This involves composing for others, specifically for the Belgian post-classical ensemble Echo Collective.

Echo Collective has earned an international reputation in the post-classical world: chosen by icons such as A Winged Victory for the Sullen and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson for their instrumental expertise and arranging experience, the collective is also known for their interpretive intuition in genres such as rock, synth-pop, and black metal. The synergies between the musicians are palpable throughout on LUNA, with Echo Collective laying out something like a bed or canvas on which Pascal Schumacher paints with his vibraphone and other pitched percussion.

LUNA's nocturnal sentiment is conveyed largely through calm and tenderness, but not every vibration of the late-night hours is so serene. Rhythmicon is one track that plays with this very different nocturnal energy, blossoming with increasing speed and intensity. Inspired by Leon Theremin's eponymous 1930's electromechanical instrument, Rhythmicon forms an energetic percussive track that incorporates multiple and simultaneous rhythmic patterns. 

LUNA is a shining friend in the lonely night, a reminder of our eternal satellite. -Translation by ArkivMusic