A GENUINE, gilt-edged musical legend, German electronic and ambient music pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius, now into his eighth decade with us, is to enter into a two-way piano conversation with American composer and friend of 40 years Tim Story for Erased Tapes in January.
The 11-track album, entitled 4 Hands, allows the pair to explore an intimate and surreal musical conversation full of the beauty that comes from so many years in the construction and appreciation of music, and in sharing love for an instrument from overlapping directions.
4 Hands was recorded sequentially but on one and the same grand piano. The process began when Roedelius laid down a few études off the cuff in May 2019 while visiting Tim Stateside; he then learnt the intricacy of those pieces in order to both extend and compliment over the following months. Its intuitive, masterful, fluid, delicate.
You can delight in a first single, Spirit Clock, below; it received its name from Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths and born out of a conversation around timing.
“To me this term perfectly describes what’s going on here. There is this invisible bond, this very strong energy between Ach [Roedelius] and Tim whenever they make music together that’s still perfectly intact even when they are dimensions apart.
“This metaphysical intersection of four hands on one and the same mechanical instrument at different times, something so technical yet deeply spiritual, is what fascinates me.”
Roedelius & Story’s 4 Hands will be released by Erased Tapes digitally, on CD and on vinyl on January 28th and can be pre-ordered here.
1 comment