Hauschka
Volker Bertelmann studied popular music at the College of Music and Theatre in Hamburg. He is one half of Tonetraeger, a member of Music A.M., and an organizer of piano concerts. Hauschka is his solo moniker for exploring both traditional and prepared piano. His practical approach of "doing first, interpreting later" allows Volker the freedom to avoid all concepts — except that of drawing on other genres and styles of music, which he adapts for the piano.
For his recordings, Volker multi-tracks parts, at times adding instrumentation other than the piano. The result: orchestrations that are almost ambient or band-like. For his concerts, he does entirely without computers, preferring the spontaneity and dynamics of live improvisation. "Both the audience and myself," he reasons, "have a right to something unique." Yet, the piano motifs are reminiscent of synth arpeggios in electronica, while the percussive sounds from the prepared piano strings echo the structure and feel of clicks, pops and other noise in minimal electronic music.
Hauschka's music is film without pictures, inviting
listeners to imagine their own stories — such as a long walk through
the Welsh mountains, along La Seine or the Lower Rhine. Maybe someone was
waiting for a friend in a café in Cardiff, or was it in Düsseldorf?
Hauschka's music is deceptively simple and highly personal, giving ample
room to expand — and its charm is told as one's own story.
Hauschka
homepage
Download free MP3 || from "prep.
piano session" (4'23" with 5.1 Mb)
Download free MP3 || from "substantial
session" (4'06" with 3.8 Mb)
Read interview (tokafi) || 15
Questions to Hauschka
Listen to Hauschka
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(Album) Foreign Landscapes
|01| Alexanderplatz |02| Iron Shoes |03| Mount Hood |
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(Album) Snowlfakes & Carwrecks
|01| Ginsterweg |02| Eisblume |
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(Album) Ferndorf [CD: FatCat, 2008] |01| Blue Bicycle |02| Morgenrot |03| Rode Null |
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(Album) Room to Expand [CD: FatCat, 2007] |01| La
Dilettante |02| Paddington |
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(V.A.) Versions of the Prepared Piano A remix album featuring contributions by Eglantine Gouzy, Barbara Morgenstern, Nobukazu Takemura, Wechsel Garland, Frank Bretschneider, Mira Calix, Tarwater, and others. |
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(EP) What a day [7": earsugar, 2006] |A| What
A Day |
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(V.A.) Groove #97/N°6 [CD: Groove, 2005] A 10-track compilation CD featuring tracks by Jan Jelinek, Kelley Polar, Yoav B., The Orb, Alex Under, Patrick Chardronnet, Nubian Mindz, Boards of Canada, Ricardo Villalobos, as well as Hauschka's track "Red Pencil". |
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(Album) The Prepared
Piano |01| La Seine |02| Traffic
|03| Fernpunkt
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(V.A.) Kalk Seeds [CD: Karaoke Kalk, 2005] 16-track compilation featuring tracks by many Karaoke Kalk artists including Hausmeister, Donna Regina, Takagi Masakatsu, Kuchen meets Mapstation, Takeo Toyama, Kan Daisuke, Sora&Wechsel Garland, as well as Hauschka's track Two Stones. |
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(Album) Substantial [CD/12": Karaoke Kalk, 2004] |01| Orange
I |02| Vielleicht
|03| Golden
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