Sonar

Event information

SONAR is a new Post-Minimal-Rock band from Switzerland. The name stands for Sonic Architecture, describing their intention of creating musical atmospheres, polyrhythmic soundscapes and highly structured aural spaces. They have just released their first CD A Flaw of Nature on Nik Bärtsch's Ronin Rhythm Records label.

"A really fascinating blend of art-rock, groove-based minimalism and abstract mathematical theory, all woven together to great effect"
New Sounds, New York

"You might need a moment to get used to Sonar's idiosyncratic sound world. But once you are in, you don't want to leave..." Nik Bärtsch, pianist and ECM recording artist

Sonar's music is played live without any sequencers, loops or computers using a minimum amount of equipment: 2 guitars, a bass guitar, 3 small amplifiers und a basic drum kit. No effects are used (except a touch of reverb and tremolo) to keep the music as direct and immediate as possible. The band does not consider itself a collection of soloists, rather a small chamber (groove-)orchestra, where only collective efforts matter.

"Especially live, the members of the group free themselves from the bonds of human logic to conjure up a narcotically intensive emotional world" Hanspeter Küenzler

"With the guitars and bass tuned to tritones, there's a challenging quality to the constellations of plucked harmonics that chime in orbit around each other. They create interlocking, overlapping and polyrhythmic meters, reminiscent of the early minimalist microworlds of Steve Reich and the 80s-era gamelan rock of King Crimson [...] Sonar's music firmly locates the group as a glisteningly brilliant node on the continuum of the Swiss minimalist scene alongside the ritual groove of Nik Bärtsch" Sid Smith

The instantly recognizable sound of Sonar is due to the special tuning of the guitars and the bass guitar to tritones (C / F# / C / F# / C / F#), an interval sometimes called the devil in music (diabolus in musica). A large proportion of the music is played using only the natural harmonics of these two notes, thereby creating a harmonically ambiguous musical microcosmos that the group calls "tritone harmonics". Incredible live - this is visionary torch-bearing music performed by an exceptionally talnted outfit.

Line-Up :
Stephan Thelen : guitar
Bernhard Wagner : guitar
Christian Kuntner : bass guitar
Manuel Pasquinelli : drums

www.sonar-band.ch

MooV play some of their latest material from recent album 'Here' as a trio. Utterly unclassifiable.

'Criminally underexposed' (Jazz UK)
'Riley is that rarest of birds, a genuine original, and his music is sui generis, but consistently haunting and often beautiful' (London Jazz Blog)
'Rasping blues folksong inflections ... icy-breath intimacy ... real warmth and passion ... ' (Jazzwise)

Colin Riley (keyboards/composer)
Elisabeth Nygård (vocals)
Pete Wilson (bass guitar)

www.moov.org.uk