Reviews Zarek 05
IGNAZ SCHICK/ANDREA NEUMANN – PETIT PALE
They work with clicks, cuts, buzzes, hiss and acoustic sound and arrive at a more abstract improv record than usually. Schick and Neumann move cleverly through the endless spectrum of sound: from rather harsh to subtle movements. A very fine CD of improvised abstract electronica.
Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly, NL
Arid. Abstract. Cerebral. Glitches, low-fi electronics and noise come together nicely. Good interaction between the players. Francois Couture, All Music Guide, USA
The duo’s strength lies in their manipulation of velocity. They’re two extraordinarily responsive musicians, whose sensitivity towards detail and spacing make “petit pale” a record that’ll reward future listening.
Nirav Soni, Ink 19, USA
You never quite know what to expect while listening; quiet movements are interrupted by a sudden clanging or a surface scraping, but still they keep things charged, subdued and subtle, only occasionally moving into more harsh textures. An excellent new release of electroacoustic improv.
Richard Di Santo, Incursion Music Review, Canada
Both musicians seem to be as happy as kids in a sandpit scrabbling around in their “electronic minimalist rubble”. It«s engrossing stuff
The Wire, UK
A hymn of praise on silence.
Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy, Germany
Relaxed and with a big portion of persistence both go in search, set out and succeed. Very exciting.
Jazz Live (Austria)
A saucerful of surprises.
Blow Up (Italy)
This is a complex album. Generally toward the edgy side. Fascinatingly intense, balancing longer somewhat ambient periods with active interplay.
Ampersand Etcetera, Australia
At first it seemed like the house had been swallowed by an windless gale, the eighteen-by-twenty-four solar panels methodically unbolting themselves from the roof and shimmying across the shingles. In reality, it was the Petit Pale CD (Zarek) by Ignaz Schick and Andrea Neumann. The pair are quite a team.
Bananafish, USA
Wo so manche Adepten im schwerelosen Raum zwischen den Galaxien von Staalplaat und Mille Plateaux eher autistisch auf der Stelle eiern, bleibt diese Musik einem staendigen Dialog unterworfen und damit eben gerade nicht berechenbar geradlinig, sondern voller vorantreibender Risse.
Testcard, Germany
Elektronische Musik wirft immer mehr Schatten auf Experiment & Improvisation. Ausgangsmaterialien aud vorliegender Duo-CD sind elektronische (Ignaz Schick) und akustische (Andrea Neumann) Geräusche, die spontan einem Veränderungsprozeß unterworfen werden. Dies geschieht aufführungspraxisbezogen sehr unspektakulär, doch die in diesem Fall auf Reduktion bedachte Klangerzeugung kann sich hören lassen.
Alfred Pranzl, Skug, Austria