Swiss composer/keyboardist Nik Brtsch doesn't play jazz, pop, or classical music.

Rather, he and his groups Mobile and Ronin play a remarkable synthesis of the above genres, and the result is something Bärtsch calls "ritual groove music." Although Bärtsch has been developing this music - and the elaborate aesthetic and philosophical aesthetic that support and surrounds it - most listeners' first encounter with it has been the new CD from his band Ronin, Stoa, Bärtsch's first album on ECM Records. It's utterly remarkable - the repeated, interlocking musical phrases made me think of minimalist composer Steve Reich and the organic, hypnotic and fearsomely grooving power evoked James Brown. Bärtsch acknowledges each as an influence, but feels that other influences, such as Igor Stravinsky and Morton Feldman, are just as important, if not as apparent. There's a high level of composition in Bärtsch's pieces, which he calls "Moduls" and identifies only by number. There is also improvisation, at least with Ronin; his other group, Mobile, a sort of acoustic alter-ego group to Ronin that features most of the same players, eschews improv for a more hypnotic, eternal presentation of Bärtsch's compositions. The sound of his music is strikingly novel - but when the novelty fades, the memorable quality of the pieces and the excellence of the performances become increasingly apparent.

There's a good deal more to say about Nik Bärtsch, but when I telephoned him in Zurich, he said it all for me. Read on.

All About Jazz: Before we speak of specific bands, musicians or pieces, we need to discuss your overall musical vision. Few artists have as focused or as specifically systematic a conception of their music as you do, and this conception has been in place for some time now - although it has, perhaps, become even more distilled and, I think, successful. You compose pieces which you call "Moduls" that are numbered and that contain rather specific parts for the players so that the parts combine to form one, interlocking, grooving musical animal. There is repetition and overlaid rhythms that feel inspired by Steve Reich, perhaps, and a sectioning of parts, with your band Ronin especially, that makes me think of James Brown. You call your work "ritual groove music" Would you care to explain this concept?

Nik Bärtsch: Well, these are quite a few points you mention. In the beginning, when I was in my twenties, it was important for me to bring all the experiences that I had had with different musical styles together into a concept. I asked myself why I was doing this - why I was into music, why I played and composed, what was the sense of all that? Let me start a bit earlier, because this is important for the concept. I started out playing jazz, funk and pop music and then, when I was 16, I started doing classical music with a very good teacher. But with all these styles and concepts and bands, especially with jazz groups, I missed the focus, the continuity of work - I wanted something very distilled, something that was very much my own. So after my piano studies at university, I practically stopped playing in all these jazz bands, stopped doing a lot of gigs. I stopped playing clubs, stopped playing amplified.

That's when I created a new form of concert. I started the first band, which was called Mobile. This band and I wanted to create an alternative to this faster club culture, and, on the other hand, an alternative to this stiff classical culture. We created rituals, musical rituals, in which not only the music, but also the room, the light and the time played very important roles. It was kind of a multimedia vision, but not in the sense of using a lot of videos and stuff - more multimedia in the sense of thinking about all the parameters of live performance. The first of these rituals was in 2000. We prepared for it for almost two years, and it was a 36-hour concert ...

Read the full interview:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22455

Article Source: Allaboutjazz.com