Bartsch, Nik - Hishiryo
SKU
RONIN003
Like most everyone outside of Switzerland, I first heard of Nik Bartsch via his great release "Stoa" by Ronin. This is a solo piano record which shows the basic building blocks of his distinctive sound and which was released on his own, tiny label.
"The music shows a close affinity to architecturally organized space and is governed by the principles of repetition and reduction as well as by interlocking rhythms. A piece of music can be entered, inhabited like a room. It moves forward and transforms through obsessive circular movements, superimposition of different meters and micro-interplay. The listeners attention is directed toward minimal variations and phrasing. The band becomes an integral organism - like an animal, a habitat, an urban space. One must think with ears and hands. As a solo performer I
perform my compositions on prepared piano with percussion.
"The pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch from Zurich is among the most innovative musicians of the Swiss jazz scene."-Neue Zürcher Zeitung
"Nik Bärtsch is an unsung wunderkind of European new music."-Ellen Pearlman, Brooklyn Rail, New York