Reinhold Friedl & Martin Siewert - Lichtung (2024)

REINHOLD FRIEDL (piano) meets RADIAN member MARTIN SIEWERT
(guitar, electronics): Three spontaneous sonic explorations - subtle and explosive!

With over a dozen releases on Karlrecords, and a total output of more than 100 albums in general, Reinhold Friedl doesn't need much of an introduction to anyone interested in contemporary music / avantgarde: his ensemble zeitkratzer is as respected as it is feared for its radical approach on music, and it seems redundant to mention all collaborators and projects.

Friedl is known for his unique piano sound, his advanced techniques, and his musical intensity paired with precise exuberant sound constructions and consistent compositional thinking. He cooperated with musicans from Phil Niblock to Lou Reed, Mario Bertoncini (Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza) to Whitehouse, Laurie Anderson to Rashad Becker and works as guest professor at various universities across Europe. The "multi-talented renaissance man" (as Naut Human turned it) is also known as a specialist for Iannis Xenakis, and curates the Perihel series on Karlrecords.

"Lichtung" is the collaboration of Friedl and no other than Vienna-based Martin Siewert, himself a highly prolific and reputated innovative guitar player and producer in groups like Radian or Trapist. Martin Siewert played with the who is who in experimental and improvised music and celebrated his strong musical identity in international collaborations with Otomo Yoshihide to Oren Ambarchi, Meg Stuart to Christian Fennesz, Sainkho Namtchylak to The Necks. Siewerts guitar play at the intersection of acoustic / electronic generated sounds is unique, evoking echoes of krautrock and musique concrete to electronic jazz and avantgarde.

"Lichtung" was recorded in Vienna: Several studio meetings condensed to three intense tracks, a statement and musical adventure between noise and silence, subtle and explosive! Two musicians, who couldn't be more diverse, here – in every sense – they act in concert.