Electro-Acoustic-Congress Stefan Poetzsch (Violin/Viola/Liveelektronik), D
Frank Gratkowski (Saxophon/Bassklarinette), D
Eyal Maoz (E-Gitarre), New York/Israel
Njamy Sitson (voc. /perc. ), Kamerun/D
Hermann Stengel (digital drums, drums), D
Peter Ajtay (dr), D/HU
Happily improvised music is no longer regarded as a monstrosity and thus a left over tolerated absurdity in the world of music. Even in the Western World it is increasingly recognized that the majority of music on our planet is not notated and thus also contains improvised moments amongst its characteristics. Listeners are often, not without cause, afraid that improvisation is always chaotic or unstructured and consequently incomprehensible. Often improvisation is merely ascribed to jazz and all improvisation thus triumphantly packed into this pigeonhole.
This project is not primarily concerned with styles, a compulsive mix of styles or commercial crossover. A congress concerns itself with theses, themes, insights, which also include lively discussions, in this case musical ones. All the participants in this congress have different approaches to music and improvisation. So it is more than possible that Njamy Sirson’s lovely African melodies or Eyal Maoz’s traditional Jewish scales will be brought into play. However this does not mean that suddenly the whole group tries to play African or Israeli music. Much more it is the aim of this project to fill out or also to counterpoint these concrete conceptual spontaneous compositions with ones own means or experiences.
With Frank Gratowski, Eyal Maoz and Stefan Poetzsch, musicians who are also known as composers and interpreters of contempo- rary music and soundart, are involved in this congress. The three of them see themselves as a new generation of composers, who cultivate improvisation and spontaneous composition just as much and thus conceive of no qualitative difference between the two approaches.
Hermann Stengel and Peter Ajtay are masters of strong grooves, which are defining for pop and jazz but can by all means combine with baroque sounding violin passages in the congress. All of these approaches, in no way, exclude each other, differences are not in the process reduced to the same level but rather as a tantalizing challenge creatively played out. The complete sound and the shared feeling of all the participants are constantly kept in focus.
A wider vista is opened up in this project through the use of electronics as well as the manipulation of sounds. Sounds, that cannot be produced acoustically, flow into the music and often form a link or maybe the basis for expansive improvisations.
Translation to english: Thony Christie
Elektroakustischer Kongress