The Swiss-German trio features some deep musical thinkers. On this latest release, Harald Kimmig, Daniel Studer and Alfred Zimmerlin “take up the electrification challenge”, as their publicity puts it. But forget any idea of a “betrayal” involving “going commercial” – this is a fully artistic move. The music is tough, and needs several listens before its rich rewards become apparent.
These are incredibly versatile musicians with a vast hinterland. Violinist Harald Kimmig works with writers, visual artists and dancers, and teaches improvisation at the Schule für Tanz, Improvisation und Performance, Freiburg. Bassist Daniel Studer focuses on improv and mixed forms of improvisation and composition, which he teaches at different music schools. Cellist Alfred Zimmerlin writes for all classical genres, and teaches free improv at FHNW Basel.
Their new album isn’t one to be played often, but for adventurous listeners its challenging sounds will be refreshing. Entry One (rendered lower case on the album) opens with what sounds like musical DIY – a saw hacking at a piece of wood. (Entry Two has a curiously similar motif.) Throughout, industrial sounds are prominent, and the album challenges the conventions of the popular trio format.
When I interviewed him some years back, Studer explained that for him “string trio” just means “three string instruments playing together”. Its 20th century classical revival saw contributions from Webern and Schoenberg, while in jazz and improv, the String Trio of New York and Kent Carter’s Trio are models. But for Studer, these harmonic approaches are not a dominant influence.
The trio has a wide range of musical reference, and the different styles come together. Jazz is one of them, though contemporary modernist composition seems a more obvious influence on Black Forest Diary. The three musicians embody the breaking down of barriers across Western improvised and art music. With their audacious approach, the trio follow an artistic imperative – making the new familiar, and the familiar new.
Discography
entry one; entry two; entry three; entry four; entry five; entry six (41.23)
Harald Kimmig (elvn, elec); Alfred Zimmerlin (elclo, elec); Daniel Studer (elb, electronics). Villingen, December 2022.
Wide Ear Records WER 074
