Sonic Curiosity Logo

Ricochet Gatherings (Part 2): 2006 and 2007

decorative rule

Each year, Ricochet Dream sponsors a Gathering that serves as a reason for notable EM artists from all over the globe to assemble to socialize and perform together in massive jam sessions. Below are the documentation releases from three years of this festival.

What makes these releases special (besides the superlative music) is the opportunity to hear diverse musicians improvising on the spot and collaborating with spontaneity. While many of these guys are meeting for the first time, their talents and mutual love of EM is a common bond that often serves to produce stunning tuneage.

decorative rule

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Ricochet Gathering, Rubycon 2006 (limited edition 4 CD set on Ricochet Dream)

This release from 2007 offers 4 discs of electronic music recorded live in Tuscany, Italy (somewhat away from the Rubicon) from June 3-10, 2006.

Attending and contributing to this release are: Wolfram Spyra, Star Sounds Orchestra (Steve Schroyder & Jens Zygar), Jozef Skrzek, Paul Lawler (aka Arcane), Paul Nagle, Andy Pickford, Bill Fox, Ololiuqui (aka Volker Konig), Jaroslaw Degorski, Polaris, and Conrad Gibbons, with guests Edgar Maier and Izabela Degorska.

When you sit a lot of different musicians down at a host of synthesizers, you can expect the output to be versatile and kaleidoscopic, which is exactly the case here (and in the following releases). There are piercing highs and guttural bottoms, whimsical chords and dramatic passages, textural flows and looping sequences and diverse keyboard riffs. There’s e-perc, lively rhythms and ponderous beats and dire tempos. There might be guitars and other instruments--this is difficult to gauge, since there are no instrumentation lists accompanying these releases, just overall personnel and their country of origin. Sorting out who does what, who’s leading and who’s playing in support--this information would be feigned guesswork. So, the actual music is what will be discussed. It should be noted that none of this music is crowded with layers struggling to dominate; each aspect is meticulously crafted to respectfully function in tandem with the others.

Disc 1 (79 minutes):

Lilting harmonics combine with languid melodies. Inventive effects inject themselves to season the engaging tunes. Here, the music is generally mellow (although hardly ambient); the goal is soothing with a strong substantiality. Mild e-perc appears, goading melodies along with temperate rhythms. Dreamy passages are peppered with haunting elements (like remote whale songs and chittering diodes). One track features vibratory beats and a distant vocal crooning amid a soundscape of heavenly demeanor. Another piece (which is regrettably short at 3:41 minutes, compared to the others which clock in between 10 and 16 minutes) offers flutish strains swimming in a sea of gentle rhythms that tickles the cerebellum with exotic flavor. The last track employs a more energized mien with bouncy riffs and wobbly embellishment.

Disc 2 (78 minutes):

Things get spacier on this disc, with eerie atmospherics and ominous rhythms opening the set, leading to an increase of density and deeper tonalities which enhance the otherworldliness of the tune. The next piece adopts a more whimsical attitude with twinkling keys and soaring optimism, making ample use of numerous rhythm tracks, and even tossing in some theremin (or a synthesized approximation of that classic device used in the soundtracks of so many Fifties Sci-Fi movies). The following track goes moody with growling tones and lamenting chants and plodding faux bongos. The next piece steps everything down to a sedate posture with airy textures and sporadic e-perc hints, building to a plateau of peaceful disposition. The last track coalesces chaos into a stately composition with dreamy keyboards and loping tempos, building toward a coda of melancholic beauty (in which acoustic guitar contributes an endearing finale).

Disc 3 (80 minutes):

For this disc, guitar becomes a regular features. What starts out as a pastoral excursion (with pleasant keyboards and a marching tempo) grows more dramatic as inventive complexity infects the rhythms and electric guitar enters the mix with a churning pattern that tantalizes expectancy. Next, elements from the previous track evolve into tenser aspects and are joined by auxiliary electronic riffs which eventually commingle to form a melody of some urgency; this tension is helped along as the e-perc grows more strident; then everything enters a seemingly meandering phase which leads to an ascension into melodic clouds laced with snappy beats. Next, slide guitar and bell-tones coax their way through regions of auspicious harmonics to reach a territory of contributory percussion. Then, swampy sounds give birth to inquisitive pulsations while restrained cosmic guitar establishes quite a smoldering presence before the track slides into an edgy contemplative passage. The last track luxuriates with soothing atmospherics that are punctuated by sparkling keyboard chords.

Disc 4 (79 minutes):

With the exception of the first piece (that being a relaxed glimpse at the world through a wondrous fog of gloriously interlacing harmonics which spawn a rise of demonstrative melodics), this disc features a trio of long-form compositions (22-24 minutes each). The second track moves from a moody stretch of serene textures into a stretch of gradually mounting riffs (achieved by both keys and guitar) which gain strength and allure until flourishing with lead guitar searing away and electronics gurgling underneath. The third piece expresses a sense of hesitancy as each element establishes themselves in coexistent isolation only to fall together as a steadfast melody seasoned by glittering effects and periodic vocals and seductive guitar. The last track combines liquid keyboards with pittering e-perc and searing chords to achieve a determined climb to an extended pinnacle of euphoric proportion flavored with shrill pitches and emphatic keyboards.

While diverse in content and direction, the music found in this set is masterful and highly satisfying, blending a plethora of influences and skills to dazzle the audience from numerous directions.

decorative rule

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Ricochet Gathering, Yellowstone 2007 (limited edition 4 CD set on Ricochet Dream)

This release from 2008 offers 4 discs of electronic music recorded live in Bozeman, Montana (close to Yellowstone) from August 25 to September 1, 2007.

Attending and contributing to the music are: Thomas Fanger, Mario Schönwälder, Rainbow Serpent, Steve Schroyder, Ololiuqui (aka Volker Konig), Jozef Skrzek, VJ Kinga, Daniel Bloom, Airsculpture (Adrian Beasley, John Christian, and Peter Ruczynski), Paul Lawler (aka Arcane), Bill Fox, M. Victor (VicTronix), and Michael Holcer, with guests: Bob Weigel and Robert Grabowsky.

When you sit a lot of different musicians down at a host of synthesizers, you can expect the output to be versatile and kaleidoscopic, which is exactly the case here (and in the following releases). There are piercing highs and guttural bottoms, whimsical chords and dramatic passages, textural flows and looping sequences and diverse keyboard riffs. There’s e-perc, lively rhythms and ponderous beats and dire tempos. There might be guitars and other instruments--this is difficult to gauge, since there are no instrumentation lists accompanying these releases, just overall personnel and their country of origin. Sorting out who does what, who’s leading and who’s playing in support--this information would be feigned guesswork. So, the actual music is what will be discussed. It should be noted that none of this music is crowded with layers struggling to dominate; each aspect is meticulously crafted to respectfully function in tandem with the others.

Disc 1 (78 minutes):

Longer pieces are found in this CD set, and this disc leads off with three of them. The first track blends soft e-perc and accreting electronic layers for a slow-burn opening that swiftly evolves dreamy melodies from intersecting harmonics. The rhythms serve to establish a mounting sense of expectancy that bolsters the serpentine keyboard riffs that twirl and caper into satisfying coalescence. As the tune progresses, all the elements achieve a stately presence, each sliding into prominence for a bit, then receding to allow the next riff to flourish in the limelight. A tasty piano thread flows throughout, lending a majestically traditional air to the futurist mien. The next track features an opening of guitar effects, lazy strumming, country twang and arid sustains, ushering in a tapestry of stratospheric textures and snappy rhythms that evoke expansive nobility. The guitars continue to pursue a prairie milieu while the electronics, led by a shrill keyboard under nimble fingers, explore cloud patterns high overhead. The third piece takes a more lighthearted approach with crystalline keys and chugging effects generating a serene tableau that accrues vitality without discarding that breezy character. As the keyboards grow more substantial, e-perc rises, and the improv composition reaches a level of ecstatic euphoria that glistens in the high-altitude sun. The entrance of snickety guitar and astral wails mark a transition into extreme trance material that is alluring and rewarding. The next piece is short and quirky, with ricocheting tones and synthesized drops of water. The last track possesses a distinctly German flair with twinkling keyboards that evolve as they loop; the tune shimmers with the introduction of growling effects and ascendant electronic spirals.

Disc 2 (79 minutes):

All three pieces on this disc are long. While the first track begins with sparse textures, the introduction of peppery rhythms and additional electronic cycles quickly boosts the tune into a state of lavish density. Savage guitar riffs lend an undercurrent of ferocity that is kept in check by agile keyboards...but eventually, the guitar breaks free of those restraints and unleashes a dazzling pyrotechnic display that conveys pure rapture with slashing notes culminating with cosmic sustains. The tune’s energy level is augmented by the rise of lively e-perc. The overall construction reaches an elated charm as the sonic aspects attain a coexistent crescendo that seemingly lasts forever...until the peaceful climax. The second track is a moody soundscape of portentous disposition that explores variations of foggy tonalities designed to soothe. Delicate electronics embellish this piece and soon goad things into a less sedate state with steadfast non-impact rhythms and swelling chords that retain a luxurious calm. With the acceleration of these fragile keyboards into pleasantly demonstrative patterns, the tune gains a degree of gentle puissance that is quite spellbinding. The third song continues with this languid temperament, blending atmospheric tones and congenial effects to generate a vast field of sober ambience. The rise of astral guitar seasons the flow, readying it for the introduction of spacier electronics which switch the tune from earthbound concerns to a vertiginous vantage, which effectively acts as a launch pad for the tune to expand with grand e-perc and spry keyboard riffs. By this 33 minute track’s midpoint, the ambience has escalated into a majestic expression of pulsating tempos, urgent electronic riffs and searing guitar licks. Intensity builds to a rank of delightful stature, dazzling and impressive, before settling back to nourish the pinnacle through restrained means.

Disc 3 (80 minutes):

This disc consists of three long-form pieces, ending with a short bluesy piece. E-perc bestows a bouncy locomotion on the first track from its inception, an oomph mirrored by the keyboards swift evolution from noodling into solid melodics. Guitar hesitantly enters the mix, as if reluctant to disturb the churning sonic stream. The rhythms abate and an ambient passage ensues, the melody gliding on amiable air currents for a while before the e-perc reemerges and the tune returns to its sprightly nature. This time, the guitar succeeds in acquiring an appreciable position in the music before things recede into a pacific finish. Grand piano flavors the second track with a sober character, tastefully contrasting the presence of winsome electronics. A synthesized loop contributes a chugging rhythm as diverse effects make brief appearances. A sense of vigor is mounting as the piece continues, each element gradually becoming more prominent in the swelling animation. The next track applies similar sounds (piano, fragile textures and languid keyboards) to an aerial excursion into cloudless skies. No rhythms at this stage; the tune’s drifting nature doesn’t require beats. Gentle guitar sustains lend a prairie edge to the arid soundscape. The appearance of percussion marks a change from epicurean floating to airborne ballet. Even the piano adopts a more forceful disposition as things muster with seething promise. The final track pursues a whimsical mood with synthesized harmonica and keys and percussion showing roadhouse sensibilities.

Disc 4 (79 minutes):

The first track begins lazily, with gentle-but-piercing tonalities and placid rhythms setting a durable-but-soft tempo. Quirky squeals contribute a gurgling edge as the piece progresses, counterpointed nicely by sweet keyboards describing a temperate melody that winds along with pastoral aspirations. Density slowly accumulates, sneakily, and before you realize it the piece is flush with audacious zest. The next track is a short one and offers twinkling notes that cascade in tandem with cosmic sounds spiraling at the edge of sonic periphery until the introduction of guttural deep chords serve to ground the song. At 37 minutes, the third track is the release’s longest composition. Here, meandering piano is teased by auxiliary electronics effects that strive to disrupt things; but the piano holds sway, maintaining a romantic tone that endures until celestial winds blow a series of electronic textures into the mix, impressing a lasting ambience on the tune. The last track unfurls a nocturnal flair with dreamy electronics that establish a serene allure tempered by understated guitar sustains. Soon, though, the guitar switches over to balmy strumming which pleasantly enhances the tune’s somnambulant manner.

A slow-build style is more prevalent on this release as the tunes take their time getting mobile, but once things reach maturity, the beauty is lush and vital.

decorative rule
Entire page © 2008 Matt Howarth.
All rights reserved.
Webpage design by Stasy