Partikel by licht-ung

Compilations such as this one make me consider two things: it’s either a shame you weren’t there to witness it first-hand or, slightly less morose: thankfully we still have the documented version of it (because you can’t be everywhere I guess). The German label Lich-tung has a solid reputation for organising events and subsequently documenting them. This CD contains four long pieces recorded at their ‘Partikel’ event on 30 December 2023 in Leverkusen. First of, I’m not sure if the order on the CD represents the order in which the concerts were presented. Susana López opens here, and I had not heard of her before. She plays synthesiser based music – or at least that is what y ears tell me – in a minimal and droney way, adding some field recordings and it’s a very nice piece; very spacious music and a lovely opener. I know the other three acts, to some extent. Kapotte Muziek have been around for 40 years or so and apparently their concert last year was something of a come back, not having played live concerts in some years. They improvise on found materials and judging by their sound, they also seem to have found electronic (equipment) in their search for sonic reusables. The tracks gives us a delicate balance between quiet and loud, verging on feedback at times and some intense playing. The visual aspect lacks however (the images look great and there’s a clip on YouTube which shows a bit of the piece on this CD) which perhaps leaves out something that makes this performance more enjoyable.
Aidan Baker is the best-known entity of them all (chez moi) and he never disappoints with his guitar and effects slinging. His piece sounds more angular, with odds swings and roundabouts and the room recordings adds to the introspective quality of the music. It somehow remains distant, but this is one of the few cases where I actually love that about it. Also with regard to the [Multer] piece I would advise to have a look on YouTube as an even longer clip of them is there, showing a duet between a guitar player and someone with an amplified tin can, in which objects are placed and then swirled around slowly. After a while the drones enter into play and it becomes something that I actually recognise as [Multer]. Also in this case; perhaps more a performance piece, but I guess releasing DVDs is no longer a ‘thing’ to do. This is one of those events I would have loved to have attended. But yeah, you can’t see ‘m all. (LW/Vital Weekly 1462)

Tracklist

1.	Susana López - -	19:48

2.	Kapotte Muziek - -	20:01

3.	Aidan Baker - -	20:00

4.	[multer] - -	20:00

Credits

released November 6, 2024

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