Dimitri Monstein Ensemble - Landscape (2019) Hi Res

As "Wanderer zwischen den Welten" the drummer Dimitri Monstein unites in his program Landscape those two musical directions that influenced him most during his artistic career. The boundaries of the genres blur and dissolve, elements of jazz and classical music meet and merge. The drums, which are at the center of the performance, play a dual role here. So it is not only a solo instrument of the program, but also serves as a rhythmic link between the members of the ensemble, whose occupation reflects the extraordinary combination of different musical directions. Glockenspiel, marimbaphone and bass, percussion and string quartet, piano and synthesizer meet in Monsteins own compositions and create together in the interplay of individual, seemingly spherical sound worlds, which are often reminiscent of film music through their wealth of images and associations.

Through the impressive alternation of repetitive elements and catchy melodies with intense musical moments of expressive and unique clay figures and timbre, through the tension between minimalist, fragile, quiet passages and impulsive energetic grooves, Landscape creates a musical landscape in the spirit of program music that paves the way for the listener wistful expanses and remote dream worlds opened up to finally bring him back to the here and now.

Even in his early childhood Monstein learned to play classical drums and was a member of various youth symphony orchestras. While studying music at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the College of Art, Design and Popular Music (HKDM) in Freiburg, he gained experience in the field of jazz. In Monstein's Program Landscape, all these influences and inspirations come together to form a single whole, touching and telling his story.