Christian Wolfarth percussion

Christian Wolfarth - percussion

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.

"Also available is the Acoustic Solo Percussion two disc set, the first of which includes the eight pieces of the 7" series, coupled with a further disc of the same material reworked by four remixers. Günter Müller's version of pieces from the first disc just soften off the corners and turned the music into detailed but ultimately fluid washes, but Joke Lanz (Sudden Infant) adresses the vinyl aspects of the releases, spinning the discs against the needles, looping the parts and playing with the materiality of the vinyl itself as much as the music recorded on it. Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler takes one of the two sides of the third 7" with an inevitable krautrock feel, with plenty of reverb, cavernous crashes and a constant organ-like drone. The most rewarding reworkings come from the albums's  mastering engineer Rashad Becker. His first treatment adds a respectful depth to Wolfarth's music by adding subtle layers and various equalisation treatments, but the second takes it somewhere completely different. For his remix of "Well Educated Society", Becker adds new acoustic sounds from a baritone sax, cello and violin alongside his own feedback cabinet to create a chamber music work full of surprise attack and sustained atmosphere, which reflects the feel of Wolfarth's original but then goes off somewhere completely new."

Richard Pinnell (The Wire 361, march 2014)

"...a CD issue of the eight pieces that were released on four 7" records. I could easily refer to those reviews and skip the entire first CD, but I didn't. Not only was I curious to hear all the pieces in one flow, I was also keen on hearing them on CD. Of course people will respond to this, but I really do prefer CD's over vinyl - I like a good clean sound, mastered by the best - in this particular case thumbs up to Rashad Becker. To refresh your memory: Christian Wolfarth is a Swiss drummer and percussionist who has played with anyone and anywhere from the world of improvised music. His drum kit is a vast source of many diverse sounds, which he explores on previous CD's, but also on these four 7" records. Many times he uses bows to play his cymbals to create an excellent form of acoustic sound, or simply using a piece of styrofoam on various skins to create a similar drone like effect. It sounds at times pretty much electronic, but it ain't so. This has nothing to any form of regular drumming or standard improvisation - half the time you won't recognize any drums or percussion. More electro-acoustic music than improvisation, even when it's all recorded in one take. Here on compact disc I must say it has more sonic depth than on vinyl, simply because one isn't distracted by any crackles and one notes that these eight pieces fit nice together. Each 7" is remixes (both A and B side) by one remixer. Günter Müller (himself no stranger to using drums in a similar drone like way), Joke Lanz (also known as Sudden Infant), Hans Joachim Irmler (of faust) and Rashad Becker, the master of mastering, but little less known as a musician himself. Each remixes also lasts more or less as long the original does. I don't know if there were more restrictions. It opens with Müller's remixes, two further explorations of low rumble - objects on bass skins, but maybe the originals are played through speakers vibrating skins and that is the remix ? Hard to say, thats for sure. Lanz uses the pieces as pressed on vinyl - which is of course the one thing you can't do as nicely on CD: scratching, speed change and such like - and adds his own voice. The remixes are more forcefully present in terms of sound/noise. Irmler takes his Krautrock experience on board and his remixes sound like recorded at a faust soundcheck, adding surprise elements of random stabbings on the organ/electronics. What Becker is even more hard to decipher, especially in 'Cabin No. 9', but in 'Well Educated Society' he adds baritone saxophone, violoncello, viola and feedback cabinet by himself and some friends, and morphes that with the scraping textures of Wolfarth, into an intense piece of modern classical/action music. Remixes might not be the right word here: it's more a question of what else can we do with this, and most curious enough, what we don't get is a laptop remixes ripping it all apart of someone who creates a full on dance beat out it. That would have been nice too, but ultimately not necessary. Great package all together."

Frans de Waard (Vital Weekly 897, april 2013)

"Avec la compilation sur CD des quatre quarante-cinq tours que Christian Wolfarth édita sous appelation Acoustic Solo Percussion - aux réussites des faces E & F et G & H, voici donc ajoutés l'humeur noire élevée dans le cercle de A, le rythme embarrassée du marching band claudiquant de B, la diaphonie porteuse du couple de cymbales de C et les tornades élevées sur peau tendue de D - trouver dans le digipack huit remixes des mêmes pièces signés Günter Müller, Joke Lanz (duettiste de TELL), Hans Joachim Irmler (faust) et Rashad Becker. Dans l'ordre établi par les faces qui jadis les consignèrent. , les pièces percussives tournent par deux encore, mais d'autres facons. Ainsi Müller décide-t-il de élévation, autour de Skyscraping et Zirr, de champs magnétiques qui respectent le travaux de Wolfarth en leur insufflnat une pulsation nouvelle; Lanz donne, lui, dans une experimantation électronique qui régénère  après anéantissement (quelques cris er detonations attestent le choc d'une opération un rien passéiste); Irmler, plus redoutable, comblera les pièces qu'on lui a confiées de menaces lavrées et de tintements inquiétants; enfin, Becker ne s'éscartera que peu de son sujet (Cabin No.9) pour retourner ensuite de fond en comble, aves l'aide de Mari Sawada et Boran Lie, les grincements et ronronnements de Well Educated Society. 
Soit: huit opérations de chirurgie reconstructrice presque toutes aussi heureuses que fut belle l'offre faite par Christian Wolfarth à ses affidés: conclure sa série d'Acoustic Solo Percussion en confiant à une oreille amie le soin de la réinventer."

Guillaume Belhomme (les sons du grisli, june 2013)