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les suites du hertz

by Das Hertz

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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Departure 03:22
7.
8.
Intro 00:42
9.
10.
Noctarium I 04:04
11.
Störung 00:28
12.
Noctarium II 04:16
13.
Echo A 03:49
14.

about

Now finally here's the first podcast featuring the "regular" quartet line-up. This is one of the earliest collections in this series, to be exact the second podcast-album to be finished. Actually the consummation of it led to the idea that podcasting could be the fitting way of supply for such kind of albums.

It was recorded at one session in spring 2007. The band seemed to transmit suites of little musical pieces, but it was still all improvised indeed.

This could be called an instant composing experiment. Well, that sounds a bit too intellectual! And if we're not into instant composing anyway, what do we do then? We try not to be the average jamming band or at least not to sound like one, you see.

So how to say it? Let's say, this session happened to become an attempt to create a collection of little compositions on the spot. You may call it songs. Nice little sets of songs. Or as we called it: suites.

In spring 2007 we had decided to pick up the thread from the summer before and concentrate on improving our live set. Improving in improvising and trying not to be the simple jamming band: certainly that's not the easiest job to do and only a really well trained and coordinated band will be able to produce near-perfect results that way. And we were not exception. We were conscious about we were just about to start again. As a result we produced one of the musically most diverse and at the same time technically most doubtful sessions ever.

To be honest the raw tapes were not too much of an enjoyment and I remember Martin tell me on the phone: "It cannot work that way! This is really not the method to do such things. We need to discuss that seriously next time."

Well still, there were great moments. Not only moments. Some good torsos of could-be-pieces. Lots of beautiful transitions as well. Surprisingly lyrical arrangements, snotty pop trash, heavy industrial stuff, free-fusion, acid-rock drift-aways: everything you need. The only problem is, how to play songs perfectly if you've just composed them? (There were some attempts by the bassist, to reintroduce some "repertoire"-pieces though.)

This explains the original intention of the album: I started it as an demonstration of
how many ideas the band is able to produce in just one session or what the band possibly is capable of (if it just would go on consequently enough). I ended up with the podcast-idea.

So contrary to last month's "40 Minuten", you have the more or less dry "live" sound of the band here, but heavily edited this time. Following the original concept, all of the executed pieces are featured here in their original sequence and most transitions are real. There is one exception of the original sequence No. 2, a version of "Erdgeschoss / Ground Floor" from the "Gentry"-album, which by general agreement was removed later. Some irritated listeners of the original album on CD might find themselves happy to own a true rarity now. (Band members themselves are puzzled enough about why they have two CDs and which is the one to listen to.)

If you are puzzled about which synthesizers were used here, a bigger part from those sounds may come from the bass guitar. An unusual set-up with a wahwah-pedal at the end of the effects-array, which made our drummer sneak around the amp and say "there's something wrong with this unit". The foreign sounds were taken from Michael's sound-collection, recorded at several locations on several journeys and transmitted through the guitar pick-ups.

Despite all past discussions and defectives "Les Suites" is something of a group-favourite nowadays.

Enjoy!
Guido

credits

released April 19, 2007

Wolfgang Dieckmann - drums
Guido Erfen - bass
Martin Ziegler - keyboards
Michael Peters - guitar, virtual instruments, loops

Editing and mastering by Guido Erfen
Cover by Guido Erfen

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about

Das Hertz Cologne, Germany

Das Hertz was an improvisational group which explored a territory somewhere between jazz-rock fusion, psychedelia and what the Anglo-Americans nowadays call kraut-rock.
Das Hertz lived from 2006 to 2009.

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