An unexpected concerto. The streets of Berlin. Nourishment and exhaustion. The celestial, moving among us. All of these things might describe (or, more accurately, permeate) Markus Reuter\u2019s latest project \u2013 a spontaneous collaboration with Stefano Castagna.
From a strictly Reuterian perspective, \u201cSea of Hopeless Angels\u201d could be seen as a reaction to Markus\u2019 furious and abrasive work with the free-rock improvisation quartet Anchor & Burden, one of his central priorities during 2022. At the same time, it stems directly from that project (having emerged in the heart of actual band time) and also serves as an intentional sequel-of-sorts to the \u201cAnchor and Burden \u2013 Musica 2021\u201d album which, while consisting of solo soundscapes, served as a conceptual introduction to the band. An understanding and acceptance of music as being both fundamental and stabilizing, while also being a grave and sometimes disruptive weight, underpinned both band and solo recording; and also eventually left its imprint on this new work.
The seeds of what would become \u201cSea of Hopeless Angels\u201d were several unedited \u201clive-in-the-studio\u201d electric touch guitar solos by Markus, recorded at Castle Studios, Germany, 26 July 2022 (during day two of a three-day recording session for the Anchor & Burden band\u2019s \u2018Kosmonautik Pilgrimage\u2019). Unusually \u2013 especially considering the ferocity of his recent work \u2013 Markus mostly selected clean instrumental tones, feeling that after much previous experimentation he\u2019d finally found a way to speak through them musically. From there, the solos ended up in the hands of the album\u2019s mixer, Stefano, and it was there that they underwent a new transformation.
Although Stefano\u2019s connection with Markus goes back to the recording of mixing of Markus\u2019 \u201cTRUCE 2\u201d album in 2021 (and his mixing wizardry also helped to hone the \u201cMata Atlantica\u201d album), this is the first time that the two of them have collaborated on composition. From his own Ritmo&Blu studios in Pozzolengo, northern Italy, Stefano has created and produced recordings of Italian indie music, film and television soundtracks, dance music and performances for theatre, ballet and visual art exhibitions. However, his true roots are at that point where 1980s art rock intertwines with jazz, Mediterranean music and experimental sound (something reflected in his Flos project with Luca Formentini, with its mixture of invented instruments, found sound and avant-pop songcraft). It is this nexus of inspirations which drives his sympathies with Markus. It informed their work together on \u201cTRUCE 2\u201d, and drew Markus into the same year\u2019s \u201cMask of Confidence\u201d project (a collaboration between Stefano, Fabio Trentini and Jeff Collier, which hearkens back to the keystone art-pop work of Mick Karn and Japan).
Inspired to bring out his own palette of sounds, Stefano took on this set of Reuter solos and produced instinctive counterpart work, gradually building up to become a sympathetic one-man orchestra. \u201cListening through, I perceived a very free and sinuous narrative, undulating between some slow meditative sections and some faster, rhythmic moments. I have tried to support this narrative throughout, keeping his performances always in the foreground, highlighting the most outstanding parts, adding sounds and instruments when needed (my own vocals, samples, bass or synth sounds and electronic variations added in the mixing process). It’s just as if I let Markus tell his story and let it guide me throughout, without too much thinking.
\u201cAs I listen to the final result, I realize that I was playing out the lesson I learnt from two records that were pivotal in my artistic education, Fripp\/Summers\u2019 \u2018I Advance Masked\u2019 and Eno\/Byrne\u2019s \u2018My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts\u2019, famously conceived and brought about by a duo rather than a band.\u201d
Markus concurs with this particular connection, adding, \u201cthe vibe quite strongly reminds me of the instrumental half of David Sylvian\u2019s \u2018Gone to Earth\u2019 album.\u201d
The music on \u201cSea of Hopeless Angels\u201d is also directly inspired by Wim Wenders\u2019 celebrated \u201cDamiel and Cassiel\u201d films \u2013 \u201cDer Himmel \u00fcber Berlin\u201d (\u201cWings of Desire\u201d) and \u201cIn weiter Ferne, so nah!\u201d (\u201cFaraway, So Close\u201d) \u2013 in which angels hover above pre- and post-unification Berlin and are gradually, inexorably and transformatively drawn towards the lives of its human inhabitants. Although the chosen titles of several of these pieces refer directly to characters from the films, the music remains mysterious; and reluctant to draw a straightforward picture.
Stefano\u2019s initial responses and reactions to the music also informed the selection of the album\u2019s visual component \u2013 although, as opposed to his instinctive musical choices, the choice of cover art in particular was much more deliberate and considered.
All of the pieces on \u201cSea of Hopeless Angels\u201d feature video accompaniment drawn from the Italian painter and video-artist Aldo Grazzi archives, with two of them (including the currently viewable title track) also accompanied by live-in-the-studio footage of Markus\u2019 original performances.
Markus: \u201cWhat I love about this record in particular is that it is the marriage of spontaneous creation and considered composition. The video that shows me playing in the studio is wondrous because of that. It would be impossible to play like I do if it was pre-planned\/composed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Track listing:<\/strong> 1 Damiel 5:30 Stefano Castagna:<\/strong> Synths, Samples, Bass, Voice, Percussion, Treatments<\/p>\n\n\n\n Markus\u2019 parts recorded by Arno Jordan at Castle Studios on July 26, 2022 To purchase: <\/strong>https:\/\/markusandstefano.lnk.to\/seaofhopelessangels<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information:<\/strong>markusreuter.com<\/a> \/ ritmoeblu.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An unexpected concerto. The streets of Berlin. Nourishment and exhaustion. The celestial, moving among us….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2],"tags":[3632,125,3633],"class_list":["post-22951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-news","category-news","tag-markus-reuter","tag-prog","tag-stefano-castagna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22951"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22954,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22951\/revisions\/22954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2 Comfort and Trust 4:37
3 Sea of Hopeless Angels 5:44
4 Angels Fall 6:48
5 Blood Gold 8:27
6 Ghost World 4:42
7 Cassiel 5:59<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Markus Reuter:\u00a0<\/strong>Touch Guitars\u00ae S8, Live Looping<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stefano\u2019s parts recorded and album mixed at Ritmo&Blu Studios, Dec. 2022 – Jan. 2023
Mastered by Lee Fletcher
Produced by Markus Reuter and Stefano Castagna
Video art by Aldo Grazzi, 1983
Cover design and layout by Bernhard W\u00f6stheinrich
Distributed by Flatiron Recordings<\/p>\n\n\n\n