Grandbrothers

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Grandbrothers photographed by Tonje Thilesen
Grandbrothers at a concert at Village Underground, London

Grandbrothers is a German - Swiss music duo that was launched in 2011 in Düsseldorf and is stylistically positioned somewhere between piano music and electronica . The band's sound is largely characterized by the mixture of classical piano playing and a self-developed device consisting of electromechanical hammers that knock on different parts of the piano controlled by software.

history

Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel got to know each other in 2007 while studying at the Düsseldorf Institute for Music and Media and founded their joint project Grandbrothers in 2011. Inspired by prominent exponents of new music such as John Cage or Alvin Lucier , the minimal music of Steve Reich, but also contemporary electronic acts, the concert grand piano forms the starting point for their music. While Sarp primarily concentrated on playing the piano, Vogel's musical interest developed in an electronic and technical direction. Together they create a sound that combines classical piano compositions with electronic sound aesthetics and innovative means of production. It is specific to the Grandbrothers approach that every tone and every noise is created by a single instrument - a classical concert grand piano . The limits of the tonal possibilities of expression of this instrument are, however, pushed with the help of a unique system of electromechanical hammers and pushed to the limit. The French newspaper Liberation was reminded of Aphex Twin as well as Erik Satie by this approach to merging the worlds of acoustics and electronics .

Even before the first single “Ezra Was Right” appears on a first EP on the Berlin independent label FILM in 2014, the song found an early celebrity supporter in British radio legend Gilles Peterson , who first played it on his legendary BBC radio show and later on of the compilation "Bubblers 10".

After the debut album “Dilation” (2015, FILM), which was highly praised by the press for its musical independence and innovation, the second LP “Open” will follow in 2017 on the Berlin label City Slang. On the extensive European tour that followed the release, the duo played in classical concert halls such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw as well as at festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival or in live clubs such as the Village Underground in London.

From March to September 2019, Grandbrothers will temporarily override their self-imposed restriction on the concert grand as the only sound generator and go on a concert tour in Germany with a ten-person ensemble put together in close cooperation with the Russian composer, violinist and performer Mischa Tangian. a. led to the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn.

technical structure

Setup of grandbrothers with self-developed equipment on the grand piano

In order to expand the sonic possibilities of the grand piano far beyond the prepared piano introduced by John Cage , Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel have developed an innovative, complex system that is also used in all live shows: on a frame that protrudes over the grand piano, More than twenty electromechanical hammers are attached, which on the one hand strike the strings and on the other hand transform the resonance body of the grand piano into a percussion instrument. In addition, induction coils are used, so-called "bows", which set the strings vibrating solely through a magnetic field and thus create synthesizer-like pads.

The sounds generated in this way are then recorded and processed by Vogel in real time using effects or modified (live sampling). The entire apparatus, which with its multiple wired hammers and bows in the British music magazine Mojo evoked associations with a NASA mission, but also the software for the control, Vogel built and programmed himself in the absence of suitable industrially manufactured parts. The advantage of this computer-controlled technology is that, unlike human-made percussive elements, you can work as precisely and precisely as with a sampler or drum computer , but still produce an organic, completely independent analog sound.

Film compositions

From 2019, Grandbrothers will also begin composing film scores. They are contributing the soundtrack to the film “ Hors normes ” (“The Specials”) by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano , which premiered in May 2019 at the Cannes International Film Festival . They also created the music for Bettina Oberli's drama Wanda, my miracle .

Publications

LPs

EPs

  • 2014: Ezra EP (FILM)
  • 2016: Dilation Remixes (FILM)
  • 2018: Open Remixes ( City Slang )

Film music

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ by Markus Thiel: Interview with the Grandbrothers. In: Keyboards Magazin. January 1, 2018, accessed October 10, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ Grandbrothers - Dilation. In: Musikblog.de. March 19, 2015, accessed October 10, 2019 (German).
  3. ↑ Felix-Emeric Tota: The span of a single wing. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 27, 2015, accessed October 10, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Susanne Schramm: Grandbrothers play at the "c / o pop" in Cologne: Steil nach oben. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. Retrieved October 10, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Carsten Rochow: Grand Brothers - Hammered piano music. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur. Retrieved October 10, 2019 (German).
  6. ↑ Patrice Bardot: Claviers pas tempérés. In: Liberation. November 3, 2017, accessed October 10, 2019 (French).
  7. ↑ Gilles Peterson playlist. In: BBC 6 Music. Retrieved October 10, 2019 (UK English).
  8. ^ Website of the online record store HHV. Retrieved October 10, 2019 .
  9. ^ ADE: Kiasmos (live), special guests: Grandbrothers. In: Website of the concert hall 'Concertgebouw' in Amsterdam. Retrieved October 10, 2019 (Dutch).
  10. ↑ 52nd Montreux Jazz Festival attracts with over 250 free concerts, pool parties, workshops and DJ sets. In: Ulm-News.de. Retrieved October 10, 2019 (German).
  11. ↑ Grand Brothers at Village Underground. In: Website of the concert promoter Bird On The Wire. Retrieved October 10, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Sun, September 1st, 2019 at 9 p.m. Grandbrothers & Ensemble. In: Elbphilharmonie website. Retrieved October 10, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Grand Brothers & Ensemble - Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany - Bonn. In: Website of the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn. Retrieved October 10, 2019 .
  14. ^ Record review in British Mojo magazine. (Issue 11-2017)
  15. ↑ HORS NORMES. In: Website of the Cannes International Film Festival. Retrieved October 10, 2019 (French).