Post by stroehmmusic on Jan 3, 2024 13:04:28 GMT -5
Five questions for Eckhart Landes from STRöHM-Music
About the fascination of electronic improvisational music
Eckhart Landes: The project has existed under this name since 2017. STRöHM is based on the novel by Ichon Tichy "Raumpilot - Die Sterntagebücher" ("Space Pilot - Star diaries") , in which a strange planet is currently being bombarded by asteroids (Ström). "Ström" or "Ströhm" is the cosmic dirty weather.
Eckhart Landes: If I were to tell you about Tilo's and my musical careers in detail, it would go beyond the scope of this article. So I'll stick to the history of the two of us as a joint project. We met at a friend's house in 2006 to make rock music with a few other people. We had all played in bands in earlier years and then stopped due to family growth and other interests - until 2006, when the time was ripe and the desire to rock brought us together. In those years it was especially important for Tilo not only to play cover songs in rock and blues, but also to improvise freely. I thought it was a great idea and was immediately on board because I like improvising more than playing to sheet music and fixed structures. Tilo and I increasingly felt the need to meet up outside the weekly band rehearsals and try out new things. At that time we still called ourselves "Ström", but the name was very popular, especially in the Scandinavian countries. So we simply added an H. And since 2017, as mentioned above, there has been "Ströhm- Music" with Tilo and me
Eckhart Landes: Let me expand a little: I grew up with the organ music of J. S. Bach and trained as an organ builder. After my journeyman's examination, I no longer worked in this trade, but my fascination with the instrument remained. When "Switched on Bach" - Bach works on MOOG synthesizers played by Walter Carlos - came out in the early 1970s, I was hooked. I soon came to the conclusion that Bach's use of the organ and its many stops and sound possibilities in playing, improvisation and composition was similar to a synthesizer. I later owned a Mini-MOOG and other synthesizers from various manufacturers. But when virtual instruments (VSTs) for computers came out in the 2000s and were so fascinating in their sound similarity to natural instruments and could also be controlled with keyboards via MIDI, this was another milestone for me in my personal development towards electronic improvisational music. Everything was in front of you in thousands of sounds as sound libraries - and in the smallest of spaces, in the computer. - Trying things out and experimenting seems to be limitless. In the interplay between Tilo and me, completely new sound structures, new soundscapes and rhythms emerge from the moment that we could not have imagined before. Only in the act as STRöHM does something like a product emerge that finds its own way out of unintentionality.
Eckhart Landes: I was mainly influenced or shaped by the baroque music of J. S. Bach. Later came rock and pop music by the Beatles and other bands and then jazz music. The improvisational element in jazz music has always inspired me, which is what jazz is all about. And as a keyboard player, it's the groups in which the electric piano, the electric grand piano and synthesizers play an important role. These are groups like "Weather Report" with Joe Zawinul, "The United Jazz - and Rock Ensemble", "King Crimson", "Tangerine Dream", "Can" or keyboardists like George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Rick Wakeman from "Yes", Manfred Mann (Earth Band), Jon Lord from "Deep Purple" etc.. The list could go on and on.
Eckhart Landes: Yes, those were times full of creativity and innovation. And the topic of "tracks over ten minutes" could also apply to STRöHM-Music. Because when it comes to improvising, time is very elastic. If you have a fully composed piece, you can clearly rely on structures such as verse, refrain or chorus etc. and say, okay, after four to five minutes the song is done, has a beginning, middle and end - and that's it. Improvisational music, whether electronic or non-electronic, is music that only develops as it is played. That's why it can be exciting for listeners to experience such a development process - how and when themes emerge that seem to appear out of nowhere, take on a shape of their own and then disappear again. And this sometimes takes up to ten minutes or more. We have therefore cut almost all the tracks down to four to six minutes so as not to, shall we say, bore you.
I can't say exactly where electronic improvised music can be heard these days. But in any case, our homepage www.stroehm-music.de and www.zenapolae.com/artist/stroehm is a good source of inspiration. Zenapolae is a music platform where you can discover, listen to and download new experimental music from all over the world. It also features two of our albums, namely "Keep a Stiff Upper Lip" and "Chromosome", which are free to listen to and download. - Have fun!
About the fascination of electronic improvisational music
- Question 1: Eckhart, in a guest article you introduced us to STRöHM-Music, the music project by you and Tilo Carozzi. Thank you for making yourself available to us for an interview.
How long has the STRöHM project existed and how did the name STRöHM come about?
Eckhart Landes: The project has existed under this name since 2017. STRöHM is based on the novel by Ichon Tichy "Raumpilot - Die Sterntagebücher" ("Space Pilot - Star diaries") , in which a strange planet is currently being bombarded by asteroids (Ström). "Ström" or "Ströhm" is the cosmic dirty weather.
- Question 2: How did you come to make music, what was your career like?
Eckhart Landes: If I were to tell you about Tilo's and my musical careers in detail, it would go beyond the scope of this article. So I'll stick to the history of the two of us as a joint project. We met at a friend's house in 2006 to make rock music with a few other people. We had all played in bands in earlier years and then stopped due to family growth and other interests - until 2006, when the time was ripe and the desire to rock brought us together. In those years it was especially important for Tilo not only to play cover songs in rock and blues, but also to improvise freely. I thought it was a great idea and was immediately on board because I like improvising more than playing to sheet music and fixed structures. Tilo and I increasingly felt the need to meet up outside the weekly band rehearsals and try out new things. At that time we still called ourselves "Ström", but the name was very popular, especially in the Scandinavian countries. So we simply added an H. And since 2017, as mentioned above, there has been "Ströhm- Music" with Tilo and me
"When Tilo and I work together, completely new sound structures, new sounds and rhythms emerge from the moment that we couldn't have imagined before. "
- Question 3: What fascinates you about the electronic improvisational music that STRöHM makes?
Eckhart Landes: Let me expand a little: I grew up with the organ music of J. S. Bach and trained as an organ builder. After my journeyman's examination, I no longer worked in this trade, but my fascination with the instrument remained. When "Switched on Bach" - Bach works on MOOG synthesizers played by Walter Carlos - came out in the early 1970s, I was hooked. I soon came to the conclusion that Bach's use of the organ and its many stops and sound possibilities in playing, improvisation and composition was similar to a synthesizer. I later owned a Mini-MOOG and other synthesizers from various manufacturers. But when virtual instruments (VSTs) for computers came out in the 2000s and were so fascinating in their sound similarity to natural instruments and could also be controlled with keyboards via MIDI, this was another milestone for me in my personal development towards electronic improvisational music. Everything was in front of you in thousands of sounds as sound libraries - and in the smallest of spaces, in the computer. - Trying things out and experimenting seems to be limitless. In the interplay between Tilo and me, completely new sound structures, new soundscapes and rhythms emerge from the moment that we could not have imagined before. Only in the act as STRöHM does something like a product emerge that finds its own way out of unintentionality.
- Question 4: If our readers have taken a liking to STRöHM music, what other music recommendations can you give them, or which musicians have influenced or even shaped you?
Eckhart Landes: I was mainly influenced or shaped by the baroque music of J. S. Bach. Later came rock and pop music by the Beatles and other bands and then jazz music. The improvisational element in jazz music has always inspired me, which is what jazz is all about. And as a keyboard player, it's the groups in which the electric piano, the electric grand piano and synthesizers play an important role. These are groups like "Weather Report" with Joe Zawinul, "The United Jazz - and Rock Ensemble", "King Crimson", "Tangerine Dream", "Can" or keyboardists like George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Rick Wakeman from "Yes", Manfred Mann (Earth Band), Jon Lord from "Deep Purple" etc.. The list could go on and on.
- Question 5: The last question is a bit more expansive. I remember a time, a long time ago, when there was a late-night program on WDR radio in which presenter Alan Bangs introduced music by groups such as Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Novalis, LaDüsseldorf and the like. Tracks over ten minutes were the rule rather than the exception. I don't want to cry for old, supposedly better times. How and where can I listen to electronic improvised music nowadays, discover new things and be inspired?
Eckhart Landes: Yes, those were times full of creativity and innovation. And the topic of "tracks over ten minutes" could also apply to STRöHM-Music. Because when it comes to improvising, time is very elastic. If you have a fully composed piece, you can clearly rely on structures such as verse, refrain or chorus etc. and say, okay, after four to five minutes the song is done, has a beginning, middle and end - and that's it. Improvisational music, whether electronic or non-electronic, is music that only develops as it is played. That's why it can be exciting for listeners to experience such a development process - how and when themes emerge that seem to appear out of nowhere, take on a shape of their own and then disappear again. And this sometimes takes up to ten minutes or more. We have therefore cut almost all the tracks down to four to six minutes so as not to, shall we say, bore you.
I can't say exactly where electronic improvised music can be heard these days. But in any case, our homepage www.stroehm-music.de and www.zenapolae.com/artist/stroehm is a good source of inspiration. Zenapolae is a music platform where you can discover, listen to and download new experimental music from all over the world. It also features two of our albums, namely "Keep a Stiff Upper Lip" and "Chromosome", which are free to listen to and download. - Have fun!