TIp! *2023 stock* After a year with plenty of band-oriented releases and collaborations, Àlex Reviriego goes back to the solo, his favourite format and one that he’s been cultivating since the very beginning of his career. Following Blaue Tauben (Sirulita 2018), Raben is the second chapter of his “german poets trilogy”, this time inspired by the writings of Paul Celan.

If the Trakl-inspired Blaue Tauben was full-on in the bleak expressionistic domain, packed with grit and aggression, this new collection of solo pieces gravitates toward a more contemplative and pensive mood. Extremely slow, repetitive bowings, muted stubborn tremolos and luminous harmonics interact in an almost static dance, reflecting Celan’s stark and cryptic language.

Rejecting almost any tendency towards development, narrative or overt emotionality, this music is “just there”, facing us with a blank stare, listening to us as much as we listen to it. As happens with the characters on Sprachtgritter or Fadensonnen, words and acts are repeated, again and again, creating an inner chart of codes and meanings.