No morning music

Today’s morning music is no morning music at all. It makes me feel edgy. It makes me feel like I had several drinks too much the evening before…

I was actually listening far into the small hours to Marcus Schmickler and Hans-Martin Müller dissecting the music scene in Cologne from Stockhausen to the now. I’m sure I could spread incredible insights except for the fact that…well, see above. Hey, this is the opportunity to thank Hans-Martin: the LOFT is completely his own personal initiative, and has been for more than twenty years, countless recording sessions with the whole top of the game have been done here, because it’s a recording studio while it’s a concert venue. He put me up here for the festival as a house ghost, I live behind the cables and other mayhem in the shot above.

One of the records done here is just now unsettling me. A boombox is definitely not the perfect media to listen to this. It’s a brand new CD from the trio of Frank Gratkowski, reeds, Simon Nabatov, (prepared) piano, and Marcus Schmickler, computer, called Deployment, from Leo Records. Did I mention there was a tank on the cover?

The first ten minutes or so are an assault on my mild hangover. It’s a richly textured assault. It sort of spreads my hangover all over the place to make it meaningful. That’s a great thing for a record to do.

Then it all opens up. The sudden intrusion of beauty, I mean, who would argue.

If I’ve tended to allocate roles to the players in my posts on the live concerts above, this wouldn’t work here, they’re all of a mind in the moment. A record to chew on. Hey, that sounds like a kazoo. I’m not sure I’ve heard one on a record since I was young in the 20s…

Lutz