Christian Wolfarth
39 / Part IV - VI
"The creative process, a means by which creative work finds its way into realization, has consistently reconfigured its basic principles as the content of art has evolved. The choices we make, the decisions that make sense to us, reveal our nature and our passion to assemble the things we wish to share with others as an experience. We are offered a number, as a title for this recording, which we have seen before and we'll see once more, as Christian Wolfarth releases this second of three chapter…
Willisau
The improvisational and untraditional piano trio of Michel Wintsch (piano, synthesizers), Christian Weber (bass), and Christian Wolfart (drums) in a fantastic, live performance from Willisau.
Köln
Tip! Recorded on their European tour in October 2022, this is the first release from the trio of Jason Kahn, Franzt Loriot and Christian Wolfarth.
39 / Part I – III
The piece consists, as the title suggests, of three parts. Each of these parts contains a so-called large form. These consist of 39 tracks each and are played on deadwood, a drum, and on 39 pine cones, respectively. The note values, the corresponding rests, as well as the tempi are rolled. In part, the durations of the individual sequences are also determined with the dice according to a strict concept. Besides the mentioned sound sources, stones, water, footsteps, church bells, etc. also appear…
Acoustic Solo Percussion 1-4
The Box contains all of four 7" vinyl singles from the "acoustic solo percussion" series. It comes with a booklet including texts written by Franz Aeschbacher, Tomas Korber, Nina F. Schneider and Michael Vorfeld, with photos by Christian Wolfarth.
Souvenirs
** 2021 Stock ** A typical modern drum set consists of a bass drum, a snare drum, hi-hats, a few toms, and a couple of cymbals. When played as a drum set, the characteristics of each sound combine to create what many people recognize as a single instrument. Yet each of the pieces within that instrument has particular qualities that are often different from each other, especially between drums and cymbals. From a player's standpoint, shifting focus from the sonic options available with a drum set…
Scheer
** 2021 Stock ** "Between 2009 and 2011, Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth released four 7"s presenting eight short examples of his playing. Utilising purely acoustic methods, they varied between remarkably electronic sounding drones to clattering asymmetrical rhythms with quite a range in between, and showed the process of Wolfarth finding a voice in what was already a widely researched area of sound. Scheer is a new solo disc of two pieces that consolidate those experiments in extended wo…
Glück
The international quintet Glück combines percussionists of diverse stripes and their individual pronounced ways of playing. The five musicians are internationally renowned as soloists and with various musical outfits. An extremely sound orientated, fragile and transparent approach to their idiosyncratic percussion sets is what they all have in common. From diverse conjoint long-term projects (Vorwolf, Malatesta/Wolfarth, Misiiki) arose the shared wish to put the musical experiences made within t…
Limmat
Limmat is the second CD from Günter Müller, Jason Kahn and Christian Wolfarth, following their first album Drumming released in 2005 on Creative Sources. Recorded during one afternoon in Kahn’s Zürich studio, “Limmat” features three unedited improvisations melding microsounds, percussive mastery and swaths of noise and static into a mesmerizing whole.
Originally from Los Angeles, Jason Kahn has lived in Europe since 1990. He has performed or recorded with musicians such as Günter Müller, Norbert…
Spirits
**Edition of 100 copies on heavy weight 180 gram vinyl, comes in hand-painted cover on thick grey cardboard. In process of stocking.** "Spirits marks the second release of my duo with Christian Wolfarth, though in 2010 recordings of a trio with Christian, Günter Müller and myself (then on electronics) came out as the CD “Limmat” on the Mikroton Recordings label in Moscow. Following this trio CD, Christian and I didn’t play together again until 2016, when we had a series of concerts in Switzerlan…
Acoustic Solo Percussion 1-4 & Remixes
The double-CD contains all the pieces of the acoustic solo percussion vol. 1-4 series on the first CD and Remixes by Rashad Becker, Hans Joachim Irmler (faust), Joke Lanz (sudden infant) and Günter Müller on the second CD.
Spuren
Christian Wolfarth's work clearly thrives on tactility and manipulation. In he also applied some techniques to concoct and subsequently remodel the acoustic substance on offer. On the one hand, his instrumental expertness is in evidence: one the other, processes of cut-and-paste and natural-sounding looping furnish several sections with potent connotations: relievingly hyptnotic a moment, almost suffocating the next. In fact, there are dynamic surpises waiting for the listener.
In the fi…
All about Mimi
Ernesto Rodrigues, viola. Ricardo Guerreiro, computer. Christian Wolfarth, cymbals. Recorded 2012 in Lisbon.
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.3
Following his two previous 7“s with ‘acoustic solo percussion’ (see Vital Weekly 687 and 706), here is the third volume. Like before it’s hard to believe its percussion music. But this time we get a detailed notes on the proceedings: side E has ‘two cymbals bowed together with one cello bow’ and side F has ‘a snare drum rubbed with a ring of styropor and two cymbals bowed together with a cello bow’ (and made me wonder how many hands Wolfarth has?). Oh, did I mention ‘no overdubs, electronics and…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.2
Great follow-up to the Swiss percussionist's first single. It has one side of music created by disturbing the skin of a drum head and another with a kind of spidery almost drumming. There is definitely the sense of a drum head being struck by something, but the touch is so light it really sounds more like rain on the roof of a metal building. Tup !’ - Byron Coley, The Wire, 2010’Here's the second volume of a projected series of four seven-inchers featuring Swiss improvising percussionist Christi…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.1
Swiss percussionist Christian Wolfarth has a long resumé in jazz and improvised music, but I daresay this is probably the first bright red single he has been on. The first of four planned volumes, it pairs a lovely drone (presumably bowed cymbal/rubbed skin) with a very oddly lopsided full kit attack. That piece combines a constantly shifting base pattern with cymbal glare in a wunderfully upsetting manner.’ - Byron Coley, The Wire 309, November 2009’That "volume 1" leads us to suppose that volu…
Acoustic solo percussion-vol.4
Fourth and last single in the serie. Again and only acoustic percussion.
Mirrors
There is not a lot to say when a young talented percussionist meet one of the master of improvised music, also percussionist ; we can just sit and listen what happens. this is what exactly did the guys at cosabeat studio during "mirrors" recording session. the result is incredible. you can really feel the musicians concentration and then understand the importance of every sound they created. this is a focused, brilliant, top class "sound dialogue" between two of the most dedicated artist i …