Pianist/composer Nik Bartsch calls what he does "ritual groove music," in an attempt to get across the mix of aesthetics and philosophy involved. This mix includes the mastery of technique, the total immersion in and lack of separation between thought and action, pure funkiness, emotionalism vs. minimalism, repetition vs. development, and trance vs. the dramatic—with the whole package delivered as a gift from the players to the listener.

The individual elements that make up music can be loosely identified as rhythm and meter, and melody and harmony, and they rely on each other to make up the whole. Bartsch has chosen to strip away most of the melodic and harmonic considerations to concentrate on the most primal part of music—rhythm and meter.

You'll see in the track listings below that Bartsch calls each track a "modul," with a number, or numbers, attached. These moduls are individual compositions that derive their identity from how the various layers use meter (time signature) and rhythm (the grouping of notes). Each specific cell has a feel and emotion to it, which then interacts with the other cells to create larger structures, built on the phase resonances that occur.

Accents and syncopation can add a funky kick to the mix at times also, thus creating a modul. Moduls can be combined to produce something new as in "Modul 8_9" from Live (and others). Some moduls do not seem to be able to live on their own, while others used in combination can.

Repetition is an important element in Bartsch's music, in the same way as it is in meditation or chanting. Here is where ritual is added to the mix, as the heady groove begins to mesmerize the listener. However, the balance between the hypnotic and the boring is never forgotten. While a strong feeling of control is always present, it is nevertheless counteracted by a playful joyousness, which comes through loud and clear.

This music is something new, but with antecedents that Bartsch is quick to mention: Igor Stravinsky, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich and Lennie Tristano—plus the freedom of jazz and the funk of James Brown. At the same time, for all the intellectual complexity implied above, the music is directly emotional, and has the power to ...

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