Track: Bop (D. Brandt/J. Brauer/P. Friedrich Frick)
Album: Mr. Machine (2011)
Label: !K7 Records
Appears on: DALI CD Vol. 3

The trio represents a serious effort to combine classical music and techno. What could easily have been an artistic disaster turned out to be quite the opposite, with a now well-established reputation as a live band. The trio explores new aspects of classical instruments, such as piano and percussion, clearly inspired by modern composers like John Cage and Steve Reich.

Bop
This fascinating recording is based mainly on acoustic instruments with noises, overtones and even some bass notes with a techno and electronica character, to which you may not normally be exposed.

Bop displays the influence of John Cage from the very first notes. The fundamental elements of this complex sound image may seem familiar, but the piano and other classical acoustic instruments have been tweaked with things like screws and pieces of rubber to expand their possibilities.

What makes Bop accessible to the young techno generation is an ingenious mix of repeated patterns closely associated with composer Steve Reich and basic techno elements. One could label this 'techno unplugged' but that wouldn't do justice to the ensemble's accomplishment.