Markus Reuter & Stefano Castagna - Sky on the Ground (2025)

Where SOHA was defined by compositions bound to Markus’s performances—structures set in time that could not be altered—Sky on the Ground embraces intersections, divergences, and multiple possibilities. Much of the material came from Markus’s vast archive, built over years of improvisations and solo work. Stefano approached these recordings without reverence, treating them as raw, formless matter, free of sentiment, to be molded entirely in service of a new musical vision—an idea that gradually revealed its shape and direction as the work progressed.

The guiding concept was to create concise pieces—landscapes and images—that allowed for sudden, even drastic changes of course within them. A defining spark came from Markus: the idea to use both of their voices in melodic ways, something neither artist typically explores.

Although the bulk of the album was constructed at a distance, Markus and Stefano came together in the studio to listen through the finished work as a whole. These sessions gave birth to additional layers—harmonium, acoustic guitars, voices, glockenspiel—sonic threads conceived as a binding element, rediscovering interplay in real time.

The overall form of the album only revealed itself at the end, once every element had been put into play. The result is a collection of pieces that lean toward song form, yet are built from fantastical sounds and textures. This brings Sky on the Ground close to the artistic spirit of magical realism, where familiar structures (the “realism”) fuse seamlessly with evocative depths, images, and sounds (the “magical”).

Even the album cover reflects this process. Two very different images—one chosen by Stefano, the other by Markus—were simply superimposed, their contrasts merging into a single visual emblem of the music.

The closing track, “The Hollow Buzz,” departs stylistically from the rest of the album. Its presence is intentional: a pathfinder, perhaps pointing toward the direction the duo will take for their next work.

If Markus is the builder of magical elements, Stefano is the alchemist who transforms them into potions.