On the heels of September’s ‘Ferndorf’ album, Dusseldorf-based pianist / composer Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka) kicks of the new year with a beautiful extension of previously unreleased material, all of which was recorded during the ‘Ferndorf’ sessions.
Hauschka
Featuring seven new tracks totaling over forty minutes (five on the vinyl edition), ‘Snowflakes and Carwrecks’ is a great follow-up to an album that has continued to draw widespread critical acclaim.
Where previous albums comprised mostly solo recordings of Hauschka’s ‘prepared’ piano (with a few electronic and instrumental overdubs), ‘Ferndorf’ was a far more expansive and fully-realized album, with many of the tracks also featuring a string duo, enabling an increased solidity and an expanded, rousing dynamism.
Still retaining the shivers and tics (as by-products of) of the modified internal workings of the piano - alongside some sweet electronic touches – these are less central and instead what’s foregrounded is the melodic / rhythmic push and pull, and a development towards more orchestrated music and notated compositions.
Having studied classical piano for ten years, Dusseldorf-based pianist / composer Volker Bertelmann’s work as Hauschka is largely based upon a playful exploration of the possibilities of the 'prepared' piano – an adventurous intervention into the preconceived idea of the piano as a pure-toned, perfected instrument simply waiting for a gifted virtuoso to play on it. His resulting tracks are vivid, unconventional pieces made in a spirit of playful research-enthusiasm.
Confirmed Tourdates:
Mar 12 - De La Warr Pavilion - Bexhill-on-Sea (w/John Tilbury)
Mar 13 - South Street Arts Centre - Reading (w/Om Corporation and Love.Stop.Repeat)
Apr 20 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London (w/J. Spaceman for Ether Festival)
May 27 - Union Chapel (w/The Necks)