Erfolg – Hans Koch
deszpot #005
Limited edition of 400
Erfolg is the second solo album of the exceptional musician Hans Koch, released 25 years after his first solo work (Uluru). Erfolg documents Hans Koch’s experimental examination of his three instruments bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone. The pieces are state of the art instant composing and sound research.
Besides numerous collaborations – in the trio Koch-Schütz-Studer, with musicians like Barry Guy, Cecil Taylor, Han Bennink, Fred Frith, Urs Leimgruber and many others – Hans Koch works intensely as soloist. Inspired by electronic & acoustic, written & improvised music he investigates the possibilities of a solo reeds player on stage and in the studio.
He has recorded this rather lab like work on his musical language material over years. The recordings grew, transformed and renewed themselves, were dismissed and re-recorded over the time. What emerged from this working method was a process-in-progress which shifted, affected and re-drafted its origin steadily.
On the album at hand this process comes to its conclusion. Embedded in four subtle pieces called Feedback we find eight pieces, each of them dedicated to one of Koch’s instruments. They examine a particular circumstance, their own sound. With a minimalistic approach they create rich, rough and lively soundscapes and scenarios.
Erfolg is an extraordinary documentation of a consequent occupation, of an impressive artistic process. A process Hans Koch chose an ending for by publishing his second solo abum. Uluru is continued, it has a musical counter piece, an answer. Never the less, the searching movement will go on now that Hans Koch made way for new musical experiments.
This release is packed in a hand stamped cover. Each of the 400 copies is unique and serially numbered.
Tracklist:
01 Feedback I
02 Inside
03 Air
04 Multi
05 Feedback II
06 Slap
07 Whizzing
08 Feedback III
09 Overtone
10 Sinking
11 Feedback IV
12 Bow
Hans Koch
Hans Koch has quit his career as a recognised classical clarinetist to become one of the most innovative improvising reed-players in Europe. He has been working with everyone from Cecil Taylor to Fred Frith since the eighties. As a composer he has shaped the sound of Koch-Schütz-Studer since the beginning as well as working for radio-plays and film. Since the nineties he has been working with electronics as an extension of the saxes/clarinets as well as with sampling/sequencing/Laptop. As a reed-player he is always working on his very own vocabulary and sound, which makes him a very unique voice on the actual scene.
Reviews/Reception
«Ein zweiter Einzeltäter, der aber eine ebenso dialogische Musik spielt, ist der Schweizer Holzbläser Hans Koch. Er arbeitet im Trio Koch-Schütz-Studer und mit Jazz- und Improvisationsmusikern wie Han Bennink, Barry Guy, Cecil Taylor und Fred Frith. Kochs limitierte CD-Edition Erfolg (400 von Hand gestempelte und nummerierte Exemplare) versammelt zwölf Stücke: Feedback I – IV ziehen sich als roter Faden durch das Album, die anderen acht sind jeweils einem der Instrumente Kochs gewidmet. Er spielt Basskla- rinette, Sopran- und Tenorsaxophon. Auch Koch fabriziert Töne, die man beim ersten Hören nicht unbedingt diesen Instrumenten zuordnen will oder kann. Man meint förmlich, in die Klangerzeu- ger hineingezogen zu werden, vernimmt städtische Signale oder die Fauna eines Waldgangs. Die Assoziationen sind mannigfaltig. Dass zwischen Kochs Solo-Debüt Uluru (Intakt Records, 1989) und Er- folg ein Vierteljahrhundert liegt, spricht für Beständigkeit; dass, wer wohlfeile Witze über den Albumtitel reißen will, mit vor die Tür muss, sei in aller Friedfertigkeit gesagt.»
Robert Mießner, Abwärts Januar 2015
«Zu einer bemerkenswerten Forschungsreise in seine höchst originäre, unkonventionelle und äußerst elaborierte Klangwelt nimmt uns der ehemalige Orchester-Holzbläser Hans Koch auf seinem zweiten Soloalbum mit. Koch ist ein wahrer Experimentator, stets auf der Suche nach dem Unerhörten und Noch-nicht-Gespielten. Dabei entlockt er seinem Instrumentarium Klänge, die tatsächlich für neuartige Hörerlebnisse sorgen. Der/die gewogene Hörer/in wird Zeug/in eines Experimentier- prozesses in den Weiten des mit den gegebenen Mitteln Auszuführenden. Dabei eröffnet sich ein vielfältiger Kosmos, der vom Perkussiven über ausgedehnte Arbeit mit Spaltklän- gen, Obertonspektren, Multiphonics bis zu Mikro-Schwebungen etc. reicht – wobei sich Koch zu diesem Behufe Zirkularatmungs-, sowie haufenweise unorthodoxer Ansatz-, Blas- und Fingertechniken bedient und in vier der Stücke auch auf Live-Overdubbing zurückgreift. Die so erspielten Instant-Kompositionen heben sich auf erfreuliche Weise voneinander ab, sind erstaunlich abwechslungsreich, vielschichtig und immer spannend. Um diese Reize des Koch’schen Reiseangebots vollends genießen zu können, sind allerdings volle Konzentration, offene Ohren und ein gerüttelt’ Maß an Neugier verlangt; dafür wird man/frau dann halt auch reichlich belohnt. Erfolg lässt sich – genaugenommen – aber gar nicht wirklich beschreiben, sondern muss und will gehört sein.»
bertl, freistil März 2015
«Subservient to no trend, the music of Erfolg – the first solo work by Koch after 25 years from Uluru – entirely shows the constancy and determination poured into a gradual process of elaboration, systematization and filtering. By now I have lost count of the albums by lonely reed players that have graced – or ravaged, depending on circumstance – my ears, but there’s no doubt that tangible substance is always desirable over here as opposed to a vanishing picture of nullity (can you hear me, marketers of bargain-priced wheeze-and-spittle?). When the man decides to look into a specific aspect of a given instrument, he does it by intensely focusing on its atomic principles; from those nuclei of acoustic strictness he extracts the fundamentals of the intrinsic vital rhythms. Each of the twelve episodes conjures up extraordinary inflections and distinctive patterns, thus embodying the actual essence of the word “learning”. The results can sound utterly shrilling (“Whizzing”), skilfully insidious (“Multi”), or out-and-out irresistible (the imperial “Overtone”, likely to cause a loss of balance if listened via headphones at respectable volume). An accomplished and physically alert sonic adventurer, Koch definitely knows how to exhibit the fruits of prolonged investigations with the theoretical effortlessness of an athlete breaking records as the logical culmination of decades of hard training.»
Massimo Ricci, Touching Extreme
«Music by Hans Koch has been reviewed before, even when it was a duo with Gaudenz Badrutt (see Vital Weekly 853). ‹Erfolg› (succes in German) is his second solo release, following ‹Uluru› from twenty-five years ago. Maybe the title is a bit of cynical look at his solo work? Koch (born in 1984) examines his three instruments: bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and tenor saxophone. Apparently he worked for some time on this disc, trying stuff, throwing away and starting all over again. Now, while the saxophone can be recognized as such I think in most of the pieces and we are not talking about the instrument I enjoy most, I must admit that it sounds quite good in this release. Koch seems to be enjoying sustaining tones, which he creates, sometimes, by using overdubs and sometimes by just playing very long tones and a lot of breathing. Much of this stuff is very direct, very loud. A piece like ‹Overtone› (all of his titles are quite descriptive) is like a steamboat horn ringing in your ear. In ‹Bow› and ‹Inside›, Koch explores the mechanics of the instrument, again very close the microphone, so we have quite some vivid electro-acoustic music. There are also four pieces in which Koch explores the relation feedback and saxophone, and while that is nice, it’s also not something that hasn’t been done before. ‹Multi› is great piece, in which he has various saxophones playing together and creates a beautiful, intense piece of music. All of these different approaches make that this is a great CD, even if you are (like me) no particular lover of the saxophone per se, with various sides of the saxophone and all of these ways to play the instrument. ‹Erfolg› is a pretty varied disc and Koch can call this a fine success.»
Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly 964
«Oui, la valeur attend – parfois – le nombre des années. Vingt-cinq ans après son essai solo inaugural ‘Uluru’, HANS KOCH propose avec ‘Erfolg’ (Deszpot) une virevolte entre trois instruments (clarinette basse, saxo soprano et ténor), où le free jazzman allemand évolue dans un univers proche des souffleries bluffantes du Norvégien Kjetil Møster, auteur en 2011 pour rappel de l’unique – lisez irremplaçable – ‘Blow Job’. Cependant, si les notes bleues tordues sont de sortie, nombre d’échos de ce Succès renvoient (in)directement à la musique concrète. Pâles d’hélicoptère, crissements de grillons ou sirènes de paquebot, Koch dévoile une noria d’intentions vivaces, elles sont à ce point surprenantes qu’une visite sur la tombe d’Adolphe Sax s’impose, histoire de voir ce qu’il en pense.»
Fabrice Vanoverberg, Rifraf Mars 2015
«Hans Koch, schweizisk rörblåsare, som står i skuggan av andra mer kända namn.
Med det har jag sagt att han hör till de absolut intressantaste impro-musikerna, och har gjort det länge.
Skivan heter litet ironiskt Erfolg, och det skulle han ha fått för länge sedan, framgång, alltså.
Här är en soloskiva där han spelar basklarinett, sopran- och tenorsaxofon. I hälften av spåren har han överdubbat musiken, han har bearbetat den elektroniskt i efterhand. Men inte mycket, det är ännu ett tydligt analogt sound präglat av erfarenheter från en digital ljudbild. Ibland leker han med feedback och låter ljudet svirra vasst runt öronen på oss.
På andra ställen lägger han ihop en saxton i lärkflykt över en jordigt mumlande basklarinett. När det är som mäktigast rullar han igång musikmaskineriet i basklarinetten och lockar fram övertonerna. Vi har hört det förr, rörblåsare som spelar med cirkulär andning, men här liknar det inget annat. Ingen anspänning känns, de mörka tonerna rullar vasst och målmedvetet varv efter varv och övertonerna yr som lätta dammpartiklar kring stycket. I sådana stycken är Hans Koch oslagbar.
Jag råkade lägga konvolutet bredvid en gammal konstnärsgjord bok av Per Kirkeby, som bara innehåller ett enda långt mönster i blått sida efter sida. Som en horisont – vitt över och under i oändlighet.
Om jag säger att den här musiken och även detta konvolut klarar sig utmärkt vid en sådan jämförelse med ett minimalt mästerverk av Kirkeby, då har jag gett beröm, som nästan inga andra konvolut eller inspelningar är värda.
Dessutom, ett album, en sammansatt samling som för oss från stämning till stämning, genom klanger och rum som är genomlysta och nästan helt mörka.
Det är ilande bra.»
Thomas Millroth, Sound of Music
«Hans Koch (ur. w 1948 r.) to wykształcony klasycznej klarnecista, a także saksofonista, którego należy kojarzyć z triem Koch-Schütz-Studer. W ciągu ostatnich trzydziestu lat współpracował z wieloma cenionymi artystami, takimi jak Barry Guy, Cecil Taylor, Han Bennink, Fred Frith czy Urs Leimgruber. Od lat 90. zaczął wykorzystywać elektronikę w swoich kompozycjach. Płyta „Erfolg” to jego drugi solowy album wydany po 25-letniej przerwie. Wszystkie nagrania powstały w oparciu o brzmienie klarnetu basowego, saksofonu tenorowego i sopranowego. Koch uprawia niczym nieskrępowaną wolną improwizację, minimalizm, bada trwanie jednej frazy oraz swobodnie porusza się wśród różnych częstotliwości, jakie wydobywa ze swoich instrumentów. Laboratoryjna precyzja Kocha w niezwykle ciekawy sposób połączyła się z wirtuozerskimi umiejętnościami i dojrzałością niemieckiego artysty. Longplay „Erflog” opublikowała szwajcarska oficyna Deszpot – tylko 400 kopii!»
Polyponia
«Visto che ieri ci siamo dedicati alla ricerca sonora nel campo dell’elettronica, oggi diamo uno sguardo alle possibilità acustiche della composizione. L’artista chiamato in causa è Hans Koch, clarinettista e sassofonista di formazione jazz (collaborando con personaggi che vanno da Cecil Taylor a Fred Frith) che compone il disco Erfolg, il suo secondo album solista, uscito 25 anni dopo il suo primo lavoro Uluru. Erfolg è un esperimento portato avanti su tre strumenti: clarinetto, sax tenore e sax soprano. Il disco è stato registrato lungo la durata di diversi anni. Le registrazioni sono state trasformate col corso del tempo, cancellate, modificare, ri-registrate, un continuo work-in-progress che slitta rispetto alla sua origine.
Dobbiamo sempre tenere a mente che il tempo ha una funzione basilare per la composizione. Anzi, correggo il tiro: il tempo è la condizione nella quale un lavoro viene portato. Tutto questo è inevitabile. Ma, quando ci si immerge in una ricerca acustica di questo tipo, spesso si parla di slittamento, di differenza di tonalità, di qualcosa che avviene nello scorrere del tempo (dal punto di vista della composizione e dal punto di vista dell’ascolto).
Non è un caso se il nostro Koch, parlando di ricerca minimalista (io proporrei il termine “minima”), propone il termine soundscape (nel paesaggio ci si muove e il tempo è determinante in questa esperienza: non si può sforare una certa durata, o l’attenzione dell’ascoltatore va a farsi benedire, questione di scienza, di psicoacustica).
Lo spazio di composizione dunque si muove in azioni, traducibili in suoni estrapolati da azioni particolari che nel tempo si consolidano per l’esecutore e per l’ascoltatore diventano strutturati. L’azione è il nocciolo stesso dei brani e la loro conseguenza sonora, il risultato estetico. Se ieri, con Polychronopoulos, trovavamo una netta linea di demarcazione tra estetica e poetica, oggi con Koch, troviamo un perfetto sostegno reciproco, poiché dall’uno dipende l’altra e viceversa. Tracce come Feedback I e Feedback II denotano la conclusione di un processo che ha proseguito in un determinato tempo, come anche i picchiettii di Slap o il soffio che sfiora l’ancia in Air, le risonanze di Multi, i picchi di Overtone, gli stridori di Sinking.
Non è un disco che si ascolta “gratuitamente”, richiede impegno, è da addetti ai lavori (e il sottoscritto non si considera tale), ma poggia su dei fondamenti teorico-estetici che sono profondi, rigorosi, determinanti, essenziali, minimi. “Ci bastan poche briciole, lo stretto indispensabile…”: ci sentiamo già più leggeri perché spogliati del superfluo.»
Riccardo Gorone, Carnage