Category Archives: music

Release: Ptolemaic Model

Performed September 26, 2019 by Christina Ruf and Bernhard Wöstheinrich in Berlin

When ancient astronomers viewed the sky, they saw the Sun, Moon, and stars moving overhead in a regular fashion. The ancients worked from a geocentric perspective for the simple reason that the Earth was where they stood and observed the sky, and it is the sky which appears to move while the ground seems steadfast underfoot.

Initialized and guided by Erik Emil Eskildsen, Christina and Bernhard met in Berlin for an extensive recording session.

Out of their both very lavish musical universes, they cautiously approached each other, concluding in a massive and powerful dialogue.

In their respective ways of creating music, both are circling around their own center, but the gravitational forces between them left them orbiting around a common centerpoint in the space between their worlds.

The interplay of the phenomena of the world can be overwhelming and unsettling. What an effort to try to explain the universe if starting from the premise that oneself is the epicenter!

credits

Christina Ruf: 6-string electric cello, acoustic cello samples, effects
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: Synthesizer, Keyboards, Sequencer

Produced, mixed and mastered by Erik Emil Eskildsen

Artwork by Bernhard Wöstheinrich

www.christinaruf.com
www.eeeskildsen.com

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Kollar & Wöstheinrich – Cosmopol

In April 2019, David Kollar (Steven Wilson, Pat Mastelotto, Fennesz, Marco Minnemann) came to Berlin for studio sessions and a club gig. He expressed strong musical attraction to the city, “with its lavish history, musical community and typical sound of electronic music.” His experience in experimental and progressive rock merged with the intuitive musical fabric of Bernhard Wöstheinrich.

Before the recording sessions, they spent five days in the capital, jamming during the day and exploring the musical scenes at night. The harmony between both musicians manifested into a deeply complex, yet seamlessly flowing session. David: “I had the opportunity to absorb the energy of this amazing city. Our joint meeting is recorded musically on this album.“

After the jamming and a club gig, both artists felt ready for a final session. All tracks were recorded in a single day. They represent their experiences during these five days in Berlin’s summer. Sometimes spherical, sometimes driving, rushing or even fragile – but always dense, rebellious and diverse: like the city itself.


A brief travelogue by David Kollar:

“I spent 5 days in Berlin.
I was looking for the cheapest accommodation. I stayed in Kreuzberg. I had no idea it was a Turkish part of town. I was afraid there would be unrest and it would not be safe for me. I went to Bernhard’s house every morning. We talked about music and Bernhard showed me a part of town every day. The building in which he lives is also interesting. It has all floors painted, no elevator.
There is an artistic atmosphere in Berlin. Lots of sounds on the streets. In Berlin, in my opinion, you will not find a place where there is silence.
The whole atmosphere got on our album. When someone tells me Berlin, I imagine the sound of electronic music for 90 years. Electronically ritual and Samanic rhythm of inner freedom. Long musical forms, industrial sounds of synthesizers.”

Bernhard Wöstheinrich – Synthesizer, Keyboards, Sequencer
David Kollar – David Kollar – guitars

Framedrums on “Topography” and “Cosmopol” by Volker Lankow

Performed by Wöstheinrich and Kollar

Recorded live in the Unsung Productions Studio, Berlin, Germany, on April 29, 2019.
Recording Engineer: Benjamin Schäfer

Produced and edited by Bernhard Wöstheinrich,
Mixed and mastered by Markus Reuter

Artwork by studioflokati.de

Photography by David Suchar

davidkollar.com

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Subsonic Experience – Präposition & Leftovers

released May 1, 2003 | An exceptional album, following the footsteps of the pioneering German Berlin and Kosmische Musik scenes.

released June 04, 2020 | These as-of-yet unreleased tracks tracks culled from the original sessions for the release “Präposition”. They are finally made available to the public, skillfully mastered by Markus Reuter.

The members of Subsonic Experience are traditionalists. Not so much in their thinking, but in their history. Bernhard Wöstheinrich (born in 1968) and Thorsten Niestrath (born in 1967) met in Arts School in Bielefeld, Germany, a city with a reputation in improvised experimental music and design.

Being design students, the two worked together on a number of art projects which included film, performance art, painting and last but not least, the band Subsonic Experience (from autumn 1990 till summer 1993). Artistically influenced by Zen Buddhism, the teachings of Don Juan, Gerhard Richter, Peter Michael Hamel and the likes of Klaus Schulze and early Tangerine Dream, Subsonic Experience played several festivals including two legendary support shows for the band “Embryo”.

The band reformed for a weekend recording session at Bernhard´s studio in the German countryside just after Christmas 2000. The result was a rough snapshot of intuitive improvisation at work. The music was all played live, between cigarette breaks and with coffee stained equipment (mostly cheap synths and abandoned floor effects pedals). Most notably there is Thorsten’s amazing synth organ work. His wonderful lead lines and colorful organ clusters can be found on all tracks of the album. Bernhard’s duties on the other hand levitated toward keeping the sequencers running, generating endless variations of tones and textures in real time.

Recorded with very basic means, but mixed and mastered using state-of-the-art technology, this music is the perfect amalgamation of musicianship with a traditionalists feel for early EM, and modern production techniques.

credits

Thorsten Niestrath:
Synth Organ with Overdrive, Delay and Wah-Wah

Bernhard Wöstheinrich:
Mono- and Polyphonic Synthesizers, Sequencers

All tracks composed and played by Thorsten Niestrath & Bernhard Wöstheinrich

Mastered by Markus Reuter

Artwork by Thorsten Niestrath

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Release: Wishes Follow two

released April 30, 2020 | The 2nd volume of the “Wishes Follow” album. This project was my ambitious solo effort in the very early 2000s. It had not been published in its entirety until now.




Fossil Record
“Music archaeologists have dug up unpublished recordings during excavations in the archive: Bernhard’s first solo project dates from the early 21st century. The musician used the then new possibility to connect software and hardware in real time which allowed him to perform and arrange simultaneously. This laid the basis for his flowing atmospheric improvisations. You can also find this design in the centrozoon recordings with Tim Bowness dating from 2002. We are now publishing the second part of the very lively fossil record and hope that you too will enjoy our discovery.” – Christine Kriegerowski

credits

Composed, performed and recorded by Bernhard Wöstheinrich
Editing and mastering: Markus Reuter

Videos by Dagie Brundert
www.dagiebrundert.de

Video edit by Bernhard Wöstheinrich

Release: Wishes Follow One

released April 17, 2020 | From the archives: One out of two early and yet unreleased records.




Fossil Record
“Music archaeologists have dug up unpublished recordings during excavations in the archive: Bernhard’s first solo project dates from the early 21st century. The musician used the then new possibility to connect software and hardware in real time which allowed him to perform and arrange simultaneously. This laid the basis for his flowing atmospheric improvisations. You can also find this design in the centrozoon recordings with Tim Bowness dating from 2002. We are now publishing the very lively fossil record and hope that you too will enjoy our discovery.” – Christine Kriegerowski

credits

Composed, performed and recorded by Bernhard Wöstheinrich
Editing and mastering: Markus Reuter

Videos by Dagie Brundert
www.dagiebrundert.de

Video edit by Bernhard Wöstheinrich