After releasing Plays in 2002 (a musical homage to Albert Ayler, Robert Johnson, John Cassavetes, Hubert Fichte, and Cornelius Cardew) and Betrieb in 2001 (reinterpretations of Arnold Schoenberg and Charles Ives compositions), Ekkehard Ehlers presents Politik Braucht Keinen Feind, his very first fully composed, original work. Varying from schizophrenic paranoia ("Blind I") to tranquil instability ("Mäander III"), Politik touches on emotions reserved more for the psych ward than the general public. Amazingly, the endless variety of sounds all derive from laptop manipulations of bass clarinet and cello recordings, looped and elaborated upon until a complete reappropriation of the instruments is achieved. However, Politik's most amazing feat is the intricate juxtapositions and superimpositions that render the noise insular, to the point that you listen to the sounds for sound's sake, rather than for contextual underpinnings. With his first fully composed work, Ehlers proves that Plays and Betrieb only foreshadowed his creativity, as he has now made a successful segue from interpreter to composer.
1. Mäander I
2. Mäander II
3. Mäander III
4. Blind I
5. Blind II
6. Blind III
7. Blind IV
8. Woolf Phrase
More about: Ekkehard Ehlers
