Kai Liekenbröcker - Klavier (2022)

Kai Liekenbröcker describes the music of his new album "Klavier" as "composed improvisation". That's pretty vague, although it perfectly describes the core of the 10-piece song collection. Technically at least. With regard to the emotional substance of his music, on the other hand, he doesn't even want to attempt to describe it. Luckily! In the well-formatted modern age, the inclined listeners hardly have any air to breathe. Everything must be immediately explainable, in the worst case, the disenfranchisement goes so far that it is even specified what to feel when listening to music. It can also be done differently, much freer, more forcefully, friendlier. When a record becomes a long-term companion, a constant companion, the viewer has engaged with it and found their own, felt access to it - independent of the dictum of self-appointed sales experts. When albums were released with nothing but a brick wall or a pyramid-shaped prism on the sleeve, they didn't come with leaflets warning of side effects and the risks of freely engaging with the music. It's been a long time.

Anyone who expects the nostalgic twist at this point in the approach to Kai Liekenbröcker's "Klavier" album will perhaps be disappointed. The keyboard man from Cologne, who is extremely curious about music, neither swims towards nirvana in the sedate, tranquil "neo-classic" river nor does he produce his music via an app. Rather, he relies on self-sufficiency, because music - we already had that - ultimately promotes self-sufficient feelings at best. In this way, the “pump sump” of a dishwasher or the “bang shower head” can lead to the sending and receiving of human impulses. Forms, on the other hand, are important to Kai Liekenbröcker.

He suspects that the traceability of musical information works better after the structure has been found. At least that's how it is with him. “In long, 18-minute improvisations, Keith Jarrett, for example, plays so freely because, I believe, he is always looking for a new story. It should offer him so much in terms of motifs that he can develop something out of it. Once that's found, I much prefer to listen, because then I'll find a framework. The motivic is very important to me in my music, I sometimes even consciously choose the self-imposed limitations as a pianist in order not to vary motives too much”, he explains his method as a composer.

Dogmatics has no right to exist on "Klavier", neither in terms of improvisation nor in terms of structure. Consequentially, because Kai Liekenbröcker's creative and artistic career has always been characterized by pluralism. He studied music in Hanover, then joined Fury in the Slaughterhouse for a year and an album production before working as a sound engineer in the CAN studio. In 1997 his first solo album "Neuromantic Trance" was released, followed by three recordings of his projects Wondabraa and Braa Conspiracy.

In between he worked with Jaki Liebezeit and as a sound engineer for film and TV productions. He is now the proud owner of a venerable clavinet on which Stevie Wonder and Giorgio Moroder had already left their fingerprints. And why now "piano", i.e. solo piano? Because of the erotic tension that lies in the only apparently reduced music. This is not about "coming down", but about feeling the elementary. That's why the "piano" cover isn't something abstract either. Just like the ten tracks are Kai Liekenbröcker, he can be seen on the cover along with his name, while the beautiful woman, who could be carrying a Kalashnikov over her shoulder, walks past facing the hormonal, the mysterious. Is "piano" music to pass by? It is safe for those who want to use it in this way. However, if you want to take note of the dimensions of these ten crowns of piano art, a certain romance is revealed - enriched with the aromas of spices that hold body and soul together. May "Tuesdays" become a ritual! Also on Thursdays. With "piano"!