Hauschka - Gut gegen Nordwind (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) '2019

Tracks list

About Hauschka
As Hauschka, Düsseldorf, Germanys Volker Bertelmann reimagines the potential
of the prepared piano for the 21st century. A technique that involves inserting
objects between the instruments strings or onto its hammers to expand its sonic
and operative possibilities, the prepared piano dates back to the late 19th and
early 20th century. Hauschkas music touches on the work of the techniques
innovators, such as Erik Satie and John Cage, nods to early keyboard works by
Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich, and even echoes gamelans undulating
melodies. His early albums, such as 2005s The Prepared Piano, focused on his
instruments distinctive sound, but Hauschka expanded his horizons on 2011s
house- and techno-influenced Salon Des Amateurs and 2017s What If, which
combined hip-hop-influenced rhythms with rapid-fire player pianos. Along the
way, Bertelmann also became a well-regarded composer for film and stage
productions; his score to the 2016 movie Lion with Dustin OHalloran received
Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. As broad as the scope of Hauschkas
work is, its unified by the imaginative possibilities not just of the prepared
piano, but music itself.

The origins of Hauschkas wide-ranging sounds can be traced back to Volker
Bertelmanns musically omnivorous early years. Growing up in a large family in
the village of Ferndorf, he started playing piano at age nine by performing at
church services. During his teens, he played in rock bands while studying
classical piano. Later, he composed music for television and decided to pursue
music full-time after studying medicine and business economics in Cologne. In
1992, Bertelmann and his cousin formed the hip-hop duo Gods Favorite Dog, who
released an album and the singles Love and Pain and Sway before disbanding in
1995.

Bertelmann took a break from music for a few years, but began composing again
after relocating to Düsseldorf. Returning to his classical roots -- and
adopting the name of composer Vincenz Hauschka as his projects moniker -- he
experimented with prepared piano and signed to Karaoke Kalk, which released
2004s Substantial and the following years The Prepared Piano. Bertelmann moved
to the FatCat imprint 130701 for 2008s Ferndorf, an homage to his hometown that
featured a string duo and brought his music to a new level of prominence. Around
this time, he also began to find regular work scoring independent films in
Germany.

Bertelmann then released a pair of albums that further expanded Hauschkas music:
Foreign Landscapes, a 2010 collaboration with San Franciscos Magik Magik
Orchestra, and 2011s Salon des Amateurs, a propulsive love letter to house and
techno that featured contributions from members of Calexico and Múm, as well
as violinist Hilary Hahn and former Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Zeigler. A
remix album including reworkings by Michael Mayer and Matthew Herbert soon
followed. Bertelmann reunited with Hahn for 2012s Silfra, a collection of
improvisations inspired by Icelands Silfra rift. That year, he also composed the
score for Doris Dörries film Glück. On 2014s Abandoned City, Bertelmann
returned to his roots: His first solo piano work in almost a decade, it used
some of the worlds most famous ghost towns as a metaphor for the sense of hope
and sadness he feels when composing music. 2015 saw the release of A NDO C Y, a
collection of Abandoned City outtakes and remixes, as well as the live album
2.11.14.

Bertelmann then focused on scoring work, providing music for dance performances
such as Swan of Tuonela, which found him collaborating with Finnish circus
performer Ville Walo. His film music included scores for 2015s The Boy and 2016s
In Dubious Battle, and Lion, a collaboration with Dustin OHalloran that earned
Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. Hauschkas eighth album, What If,
arrived in 2017. Inspired by Bertelmanns speculation on what life could be like
in the future, it featured a Roland Jupiter synth, an Eventide H3000 Harmonizer
and player piano alongside prepared piano for a sci-fi- and hip-hop-influenced
sound. Scoring work dominated Hauschkas 2018, with projects including the films
Adrift and The Current War (which reunited Bertelmann and OHalloran), and dance
pieces performed at the Royal Swedish Ballet and Germanys Bundeskunsthalle Bonn.
For his 2019 Sony Classical debut, A Different Forest, Bertelmann used pure
piano to express the timeless, restorative beauty of nature and humankinds
responsibility to protect it. ~ Heather Phares

Tracklist:
01. Hauschka - Tram (1:28)
02. Hauschka - Ring (1:25)
03. Hauschka - Lost for Words (1:07)
04. Hauschka - Ironic (1:53)
05. Hauschka - Letters (1:18)
06. Hauschka - Club Piece (2:51)
07. Hauschka - Frag mich ob du da bist (1:38)
08. Hauschka - Emmis Letter, Pt. 1 (0:47)
09. Hauschka - Pool Side (0:46)
10. Hauschka - Supermarkt (1:02)
11. Hauschka - Krankenhaus (0:36)
12. Hauschka - Traffic Lights (0:45)
13. Hauschka - An ihrem Unglück (1:41)
14. Hauschka - Train Journey (2:26)
15. Hauschka - Emmis Letter, Pt. 2 (0:58)
16. Hauschka - Bettdecke (2:27)
17. Hauschka - Virtual Island (1:24)
18. Hauschka - Bernhards Mail (2:42)
19. Hauschka - Trampolin (2:10)
20. Hauschka - Unibib (2:07)
21. Hauschka - Emmi statt Emma (3:39)

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