This is the third in a long-standing series of collaborations initiated by Austrian musicians Werner Dafeldecker (electronics and bass) and Christof Kurzmann (electronics and clarinet), which see them teaming up with a small group of other improvisers. This time, the two musicians perform a series of improvisations with Stevie Wishart on hurdy gurdy and long-standing AMM pianist John Tilbury.
Wishart’s hurdy gurdy immediately sets the stage, with its underlining drones creating a platform on which the others play. Kurzmann responds most directly to the implications of Wishart’s sound, treating his clarinet like a Middle Eastern chanter on a couple of tracks. But, the music never blunders into pure exoticism, exhibiting a preference for maintaining a committed austerity. Tilbury again proves himself a master of space, with his dry and sparsely placed piano chords and internal piano plucking providing a rich counterpoint to the resonating strings of Wishart and Dafeldecker. At times, the entire ensemble pulls back into lovely moments of perfect placement, allowing an ethic of restraint to permeate the performance.
