★Hiddenbell Records
39 / Part I – III
The piece consists, as the title suggests, of three parts. Each of these parts contains a so-called large form. These consist of 39 tracks each and are played on deadwood, a drum, and on 39 pine cones, respectively. The note values, the corresponding rests, as well as the tempi are rolled. In part, the durations of the individual sequences are also determined with the dice according to a strict concept. Besides the mentioned sound sources, stones, water, footsteps, church bells, etc. also appear…
Grünschall
** 2021 Stock ** This is the first solo release by Swiss drummer Peter Conradin Zumthor. "Another good example of the consistently high-quality musical output and the vitality of the scene in the supposedly oldest city in Switzerland. On his solo debut, released on the label of the highly esteemed Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth, the self-taught drummer from Chur presents a refreshing musical potpourri of his sound repertoire, developed over the years, in the form of seven interwoven comp…
Lining Out
** 2021 Stock ** "Lining Out" is taken from a form of hymnody practiced to this day as Gaelic Psalm singing by the Free Churches on the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, interpreted by Swiss improviser Jason Kahn in percussion and voice of uniquely uninhibited & unpredictable utterance and song juxtaposing superb expression and dexterity on drums, cymbals, bells and percussion.
Acoustic Solo Percussion 1-4
The Box contains all of four 7" vinyl singles from the "acoustic solo percussion" series. It comes with a booklet including texts written by Franz Aeschbacher, Tomas Korber, Nina F. Schneider and Michael Vorfeld, with photos by Christian Wolfarth.
Souvenirs
** 2021 Stock ** A typical modern drum set consists of a bass drum, a snare drum, hi-hats, a few toms, and a couple of cymbals. When played as a drum set, the characteristics of each sound combine to create what many people recognize as a single instrument. Yet each of the pieces within that instrument has particular qualities that are often different from each other, especially between drums and cymbals. From a player's standpoint, shifting focus from the sonic options available with a drum set…
Scheer
** 2021 Stock ** "Between 2009 and 2011, Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth released four 7"s presenting eight short examples of his playing. Utilising purely acoustic methods, they varied between remarkably electronic sounding drones to clattering asymmetrical rhythms with quite a range in between, and showed the process of Wolfarth finding a voice in what was already a widely researched area of sound. Scheer is a new solo disc of two pieces that consolidate those experiments in extended wo…
Acoustic Solo Percussion 1-4 & Remixes
The double-CD contains all the pieces of the acoustic solo percussion vol. 1-4 series on the first CD and Remixes by Rashad Becker, Hans Joachim Irmler (faust), Joke Lanz (sudden infant) and Günter Müller on the second CD.
Spuren
Christian Wolfarth's work clearly thrives on tactility and manipulation. In he also applied some techniques to concoct and subsequently remodel the acoustic substance on offer. On the one hand, his instrumental expertness is in evidence: one the other, processes of cut-and-paste and natural-sounding looping furnish several sections with potent connotations: relievingly hyptnotic a moment, almost suffocating the next. In fact, there are dynamic surpises waiting for the listener.
In the fi…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.3
Following his two previous 7“s with ‘acoustic solo percussion’ (see Vital Weekly 687 and 706), here is the third volume. Like before it’s hard to believe its percussion music. But this time we get a detailed notes on the proceedings: side E has ‘two cymbals bowed together with one cello bow’ and side F has ‘a snare drum rubbed with a ring of styropor and two cymbals bowed together with a cello bow’ (and made me wonder how many hands Wolfarth has?). Oh, did I mention ‘no overdubs, electronics and…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.2
Great follow-up to the Swiss percussionist's first single. It has one side of music created by disturbing the skin of a drum head and another with a kind of spidery almost drumming. There is definitely the sense of a drum head being struck by something, but the touch is so light it really sounds more like rain on the roof of a metal building. Tup !’ - Byron Coley, The Wire, 2010’Here's the second volume of a projected series of four seven-inchers featuring Swiss improvising percussionist Christi…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.1
Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth has a long resumé in jazz and improvised music, but I daresay this is probably the first bright red single he has been on. The first of four planned volumes, it pairs a lovely drone (presumably bowed cymbal/rubbed skin) with a very oddly lopsided full kit attack. That piece combines a constantly shifting base pattern with cymbal glare in a wunderfully upsetting manner.’ - Byron Coley, The Wire 309, November 2009’That "volume 1" leads us to suppose that volu…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.4
Fourth and last single in the serie. Again and only acoustic percussion.