Christian Kögel, Kalle Kalima, Paul Kleber & Hans Otto - "M" (2026) [Hi-Res]

Turn up the speakers! An electric guitar is always at its best when it sounds truly electric, the glow of the strings burns into your ear, and the sound transcends itself in the amplification. It only gets more beautiful when it's two guitars singing electric. You don't have to look far to find excellent evidence for this not-so- bold thesis, with "Love, Devotion, Surrender" by Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, "ScoMule" by John Scofield and the band Gov't Mule, or Marc Johnson's Bass Desires with Scofield and Bill Frisell, not to mention rock bands like the Allman Brothers Band, The Grateful Dead, or The Dream Syndicate. These classics from this inspired guitar duo are now joined by another symbol of their passionate playing on the electric guitar, as Berlin guitar wizard Christian Kögel crosses strings with his colleague Kalle Kalima on "M."

​"M" is undoubtedly a guitar album that lovers of the electric guitar sound will thoroughly enjoy. But it'salso much more than that. "M" is the hypnotic manifesto of four passionate collective storytellers, bestlistened to on repeat, allowing its pull to carry you further and further in an endless spiral of associations - Wolf Kampmann

Driving battles reminiscent of the best days of the Seventies alternate with collaboratively designed soundscapes more typically developed in the 1980s by labels like ECM. Memories are awakened, but they don't look backward, but rather look toward the horizon. Supported by bassist Paul Kleber and drummer Hans Otto, you can listen to Kögel and Kalima's combative dreams and dreamy fights. They're by no means stingy. Quite the opposite. In no less than 71 minutes, they fire off a whopping 14 songs, each one packed with energy. They constantly find lush material for conversation, leaning toward each other from new angles and perspectives, discovering unexpected sides and traits in each other. Anything is possible. A single word can evoke an epic, a cataract can flow into a stream. Sometimes they let the strings scream, occasionally gallop in an ostinato, and sometimes just glide gently. Kögel and Kalima celebrate the unlimited variety of interplay on the electric guitars and, where appropriate, also provide a pleasant contrast with their acoustic counterpart.