Nik Bärtsch's Mobile
Biography Nik Bärtsch's Mobile
Nik Bärtsch's MOBILE
The group MOBILE develops integral musical concepts within a ritualistic framework. The performance of the music is usually combined with a multi-medial set-up of the surrounding space.
RITUAL GROOVE MUSIC is the title of the band`s first CD and, at the same time, contains the essence of Nik Bärtsch`s musical thought. The purely acoustic music is full of surprising turns and bold combinations. The ingredients from funk, new classical music as well as elements of Japanese ritual music are combined to produce an exiting sound mixture, at times funky, at times ambient-like and relaxed and then again dramatically charged. It is a sound world of raw poetry, propelled by obsessive motion.
The compositions leave room for a variety of phrasing, which is readily exploited by the very diverse musical personalities that constitute the band. The drummer Kaspar Rast, with his powerful groove, is as much at home in jazz and funk contexts as in the studio. Alt saxophonist and bass clarinettist Sha captivates the listener through rhythmic refinement and implacable calm and has already earned a reputation as a newcomer in the New Minimal scene. Percussionist Nicolas Stocker (who replaced MOBILE-co-founder Matthias Eser in 2013) belongs to the new generation of modern musicians who naturally combine the competence for classical interpretation, improvisation and the ability to groove. Nik Bärtsch, the inspirational don of MOBILE, easily crosses the borders between all of the above codes, setting connections which in turn mutate to fuses. (Michel Mettler)
The formation MOBILE EXTENDED includes a string quintet with Etienne Abelin and Ola Sendecka (violin), David Schnee (viola), Ambrosius Huber and Solme Hong (Celli). MOBILE has collaborated with different partners and guest performers: with the architects of oos, with the german Iaido-Master Martin Krahl, with butoh dancer Imre Thormann, solo violoncello player Walter Grimmer and Xala player Ania Losinger.
