For Brandt Brauer Frick, the drums, strings and pianos that have long been the bedrock of Western music serve as the common thread between the classical past and their techno present.
But while devoted to the rich tones and timbres of orchestral instrumentation, the German trio’s rousing tracks are rhythmically focused and rendered with the mechanical precision of four-to-the-floor club tracks.
Their singular vision of acoustic dance music springs to life in their engaging live performances and on their debut LP, You Make Me Real.
Brandt Brauer Frick | Caffeine
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=eQzZ_Wr1m5U
“We had felt for years that most instances of combining techno and classical music lack an authentic approach,” says Paul Frick. “Instead of using only the typical epic orchestra or piano sounds, we love to explore the dirty and percussive sides of those instruments.
We adapt techniques from composers like John Cage or Helmut Lachenmann: preparing our piano with screws and rubbers, knocking against every single part of an instrument, until we find that one great sound.”
Given that techno has long been the provenance of synthesizers and drum machines, Brandt Brauer Frick perform their classically influenced productions with the exactitude of automation. The sharply dressed trio looks past the man-machine obsessions of Kraftwerk to the technical sharpness required to play Steve Reich’s pulse-patterned compositions.
In fact, the group’s poly-metric shifts are also echoed in relentless bangers by Detroit techno pioneers Robert Hood and Jeff Mills. By stripping away human imperfections in pursuit of seamless, propulsive music, the trio paradoxically reveal more of their meticulous personalities.
Their musical point of view speaks fluently in an increasingly beat-driven culture with the perspective afforded by a deep knowledge of music’s foundations, and their execution puts aside egos in favor of a more perfect sound.
It’s almost as if the music is talking when the title of their first album says, with a hint of astonishment, You Make Me Real.
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Brandt Brauer Frick LIVE
Djs: Kode9 & Delfonic
Saturday, 03 March 2012 | 23:30 CET
Gretchen | Obentrautstr. 19-21 | 10963 Berlin/Kreuzberg
brandtbrauerfrick.de | gretchen-club.de
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