Birmensdorferstrasse 259, 8055 Zurich (Switzerland) Tel: ++41/43 536 57 93 - Fax: ++41/56/618 46 81 Mobile: ++41/76/434 41 89 Email: michaelvonplon@gmail.com
Michael Vonplon
Zurich-Beijing, 12.10.2009
Press Release “Switch on” proudly presents:
Nik Bartsch’s Ronin @ Yugong Yishan Thursday, Nov 12th 2009 Bärtsch's Ronin is recognized as one of the most exciting musical discoveries of recent years. Ronin follows up directions set in motion and takes them further. Nik Bärtsch's music occupies a niche all its own, equidistant from contemporary composition, funk/soul grooves and scattered world music’s. In some ways further removed from jazz than the other idioms it has nonetheless been warmly embraced by the jazz community, its grooves and interlocking rhythms now frequently heard also at the jazz festivals - as well as in new music spaces and rock clubs. To all – from theoreticians and lovers of tea ceremonies to party goers. http://www.nikbaertsch.com/ http://www.myspace.com/nikbaertschsronin Address: Yugong Yishan 愚公移山, BEIJING 北京 Date 日期: Thursday 星期四, 12th of November 11月12日 2009 Time 时间: 9:00 pm Address 地址: West courtyard former Site of Duan Qirui Government, Zhang Zizhong Road 3-2, Dongcheng District, Beijing 东城区,张自忠路3-2号段祺瑞执政 府旧址西院 TEL电话: 010 64042711
http://yugongyishan.com
What the critics are saying… “Ronin’s music is utterly unique—there is no other way to describe it. In a world where we are assaulted with multitasking, TV, the internet, radio, iPods, text-messaging phones, and other instruments of information overload, it is truly wondrous that such a sparse, engaging, and refined sensibility exists.” Ellen Pearlman, The Brooklyn Rail NY (USA) "Citing James Brown as well as Kurosawa, Bärtsch's "Zen-funk" is minimalism that doesn't risk inscrutability by sticking too long in one groove. Built from repeating piano figures with clarinet, bass, and a double dose of percussion for spring works, these "modules" improvise not note by note but section by unexpected section." Tom Hull, Village Voice (USA) “He may call it “Zen Funk”, but the real question is, what the hell is this? The band plays a highly disciplined style of music that relies on interlocking rhythm, groove, and groups of tight, short melodic statements all stacked on top of one another… Bärtsch's melodic ideas are trance-like and hypnotic.” Thom Jurek, Allmusic.com (USA) “What he’s come up with amounts to a whole new musical concept. This is music that throbs with a pulsating dynamism that’s almost hypnotic… woven into the rhythmic tapestry is startling imagery that grows from simple beginnings. Bärtsch's mysterious music will be around for a lot longer than the quick fix that majority taste seems to clamour for.” Stuart Nicholson, The Observer (UK)
“It's not jazz, it's not exactly systems music. It is, though, strangely addictive. “ John Bungey, The Times (UK) “Swiss pianist Bärtsch may have just made the first post-Ecstasy jazz record. His selfstyled ‘zen funk’ mixes Steve Reich's repetitive minimalism with gently chugging James Brown grooves… Bärtsch draws on Eastern philosophy and John Cage to create simmering, propulsive music that should appeal to clubbers and avant-gardists in equal measure.“ Kerstan Mackness, Time Out (UK) “It shows the versatility and candour of so-called modern music which does not set its own boundaries but lines up to perhaps cross the existing ones.” Hans-Jurgen von Osterhausen, Jazzpodium (Germany) „Bärtsch's strength is in permanent metamorphosis of instantly captivating motives, wherein one should never feel entirely safe. Particularly the poetic Asian influence itself never leads to an esoteric garden path. For the Stoa album it would hold true: intellectual execution hand in hand with musically-culinary delight.” Guido Fischer, Jazzthetik (Germany) “Cool modules instead of true songs, polyrhythmic funk that is hypnotically tenacious.” Rolling Stone (Germany) “Groove without ego – Swiss musician Nik Bärtsch makes magnificent zen-funk.” Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany) ”A breathtakingly charged submersion. Seldom was the emptiness so alive, the repetition so exciting.” Fridtjof Küchemann, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany) “Twangs as Japanese blades, Bärtsch's precision keeps you wide awake… Recommendable to all – from theoreticians and lovers of tea ceremonies to party goers.” Oliver Hochkeppel, Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany) „This music sounds so contemporary, physical, and topical. An endless sparkling sound surface interfused with beats and yet timeless. A tone puzzle. Bärtsch is already further ahead.” Tilman Urbach, Fono Forum (Germany) “A concentrate of diverse performance forms: the directness of the musicians’ agency from Folk tradition, the conciseness of Pop, the freedom of improvisation from Jazz and finally, the formal consciousness of classical music… Thanks to the constancy of the line up the musicians have reached a rhythmical level resembling meticulously engineered clockwork.” Ueli Bernays, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland), “Stoa is surprising in material, attractive in evolution, convincing in interpretation.” Francisco Cruz, Vibrations (France/Switzerland)
„Asceticism and ecstasy“. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland) “Bärtsch has managed to discover a style of his own before nonexistent”. Jazz`n`More (Switzerland)
NIK BARTSCH RONIN NIK BARTSCH / PIANO 钢琴，FENDER RHODES KASPAR RAST / DRUMS 鼓 SHA / BASS CLARINETS 低音单簧管 BJORN MEYER / BASS 贝斯 ANDY PUPATO / PERCUSSION 打击乐
PRESENTED BY 主办: MIRO CHINA gmbH and SWITCh ON — (来自瑞士和中国的声像)
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“这音乐悸动的节奏几乎令人催眠……” — The Observer (英国)
“瑞士钢琴家Bartsch可能刚刚做出了第一张postecstasy爵士唱片。Bartsch借鉴东方哲学，而John Cage酝酿和推进音乐，让他们可以同时吸引俱乐部人群和先锋人群。” ——Time Out（英国）
“酷酷的模式代替了真正的歌曲，多旋律的放克音乐，让人被牢牢催眠” ——Rolling Stone（美国）
“律动无自我——瑞士音乐家NIK Bartsch制作出了壮丽的zen-funk。” ——Süddeutsche Zeitung（德国）
“禁欲主义和狂喜” ——Neue Zürcher Zeitung（瑞士）
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Presented by: Miro China GmbH Michael Vonplon commitment to cultural exchange between Switzerland and China is famous throughout the Chinese music scenes. Chinese and Swiss artists' exchange in the course of the last decade has broadened perspectives and led to prolific coproductions in both countries. Miro China's events gave rise to many beneficial contacts for Chinese and Swiss artists. The primary aim of the event series, 'Switch On ' is to promote creative exchange and informed debate between Swiss and Chinese musicians. Switch On further enlarges this network, bringing together Chinese and Swiss artists, offers its audience a place for surprising encounters and, last but not least, fosters the development of new projects by supporting the exchange between the organisers. Furthermore, it is aimed to encourage a cultural scene that works creatively and independently. www.miro-china.ch