Ahl6 - Thinker Try to Dance (2020)

Whether the term “jazz” still stands for a certain style may be questionable. However, it still stands for a specific approach to music: an open-minded, egalitarian, relevant approach that gives musicians as much freedom as possible to express themselves - without having to fear that they might cross an imaginary dividing line somewhere. Above all, jazz is unlimited music - and Lukas Aichinger's project AHL6 embodies exactly this understanding.

There is a lot to appreciate about this band: the willingness to take risks, the solid playing and the powerful drum sound of the band leader; the seemingly endless inventiveness of the guitarist Markus W. Schneider (and also his willingness to play the 80s guitar hero); a wind set that is able to combine precision with a beautifully muscular sound. The band members' improvisations are consistently convincing, but the real star is the ensemble and the music itself: Aichinger's compositions are reminiscent of Sex Mob or John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards. They are dense without being hectic; complex and quirky but never alienating; each piece guides the listener safely along the path determined by the composer. Take the title track, “Thinker Try To Dance”: An odyssey in four and a half minutes, packed with tricky, changing grooves ... but somehow it's also danceable, although more like a dance that you would dance in two different shoes. In any case, there is easier pleasure: the funky, scofield’s “Duck Disco” or the elegiac “DMIAL” invite you to just sit back and enjoy.

The pieces, according to Aichinger, often have social issues as a source of inspiration, especially the frenzied change in the world through new technologies. Such ideas are also reflected in music: electronic effects of guitar and
Trumpet (!) Scurries and scratches through the area again and again, but is always integrated into the pieces. It's like saying: yes, it's a weird new world but maybe we'll still be able to reconcile it. In short, AHL6 has created its own world of sound: punchy, frank and full of surprises! (Phil Yaeger)

The debut album "Thinker Try To Dance" will be released in May 2020 on the new Vienna label Waschsalon Records.

Thomas Liesinger – trumpet, fx
Robert Schröck – alto saxophone
Leonhard Skorupa – tenor saxophone, clarinet
Markus W. Schneider – electric guitar, fx
Tobias Pöcksteiner – upright bass
Lukas Aichinger – drums, composition