Richard Koch Quartett - Fluss

Publisher: Horch House, HH01.00.205

Playing time: 42 min

Specifications: half track ¼", stereo, RTM SM900, 2 metal reels, CCIR, 510 nWb/m, 38 cm/s

Homepage: https://www.horchhouse.com/

Translation of the German review:   

Claus: Mr. Koch, in one of your interviews you say that from the very beginning, when you compose pieces, you sit down, close your eyes and imagine how you yourself would listen to the music on your stereo at home. You are your best friend in terms of your taste and do what you enjoy. That propagates to the audience and listeners at home. I am very pleased that you have come to me and that I have the opportunity to enrich my review with an interview of the bandleader, composer and trumpeter of this production. The peculiarity of this situation is that we both now have the opportunity to hear the copy of your tape master, as produced at Horch House, on my equipment. On the equipment, in other words, where I am my best friend in terms of taste, which gives me pleasure myself and is propagated to my fellow listeners.

Vintage Schoeps, AKG and Neumann microphones, a CADAC console and an Ampex 351 tape machine were used in the production, which was recorded directly to tape by Grammy winner Francesco Donadello at the Vox sound studio in Berlin. Guy Sternberg did the master directly to tape at Emil Berliner Studios. With me, your analog (re)production chain continues. That is, from your trumpet to our ears, there is no digital equipment in the signal path. What are your reasons for producing analog?

Richard: There are several levels. First, when you record an album on tape, you're charged with a different underlying mood because there's no editing. When the engineer says "tape rolling," it's on. You know you have two to three takes to get the track in the can and you mobilize inner forces that are at the core of making music: Being in the here and now. The whole team is fully involved, including the sound engineer who mixes the record live and helps shape the music at that moment. Everyone is on fire. So analog means: positive limitations, not having to do an infinite number of takes, and having in mind that you don't have to digitally tweak what you've played afterwards. In general, I find analog technology sublime because you don't have to breathe life into it, it already brings everything with it. Certain microphones bring a character with them. That's what gives it liveliness and balance and that technical sublimity.

Claus: You mastered this recording together with Guy Sternberg at Emil Berliner Studios. I'd be interested to know how you went about it and what your priorities were in this work.

Richard: When Guy and I heard the tapes, we immediately agreed that not much more needed to be done. The medium of tape already brought the desired compactness. We wanted the album to be lively and dynamic, but not in such a way that the listener had to keep adjusting the volume. So we found the best compromise over the entire course of the album with a moderate compression. There was also a slight adjustment in the treble. Guy, to me, is a confidant who tells the truth.

Claus: You say that you like to compose outside, that your basic ideas come from nature. By the sea, in the forest, in other words, anywhere you can look; where you can feel nature and landscape. Can I imagine that, for example, the sound of the sea and the wind; through the sand as it glides or the outgoing waves trigger a melody or a mood in your head, which is then transferred to the playing of your trumpet?

Richard: For me, it's that nature overall helps me relax. Then there is a wide space, a brief moment of silence. In that moment, an idea comes out of nowhere. I get my notepad out of my pocket and write down the notes of the melody. The next question is how I can share this moment with other people. The music is the channel for this.

Claus: Mr. Koch, when listening to this album, I actually have the impression of looking at a flow. The pieces all have a good "overall flow". From which rivers did you draw your inspiration? 

Richard: The river is in my biography, so to speak. I was born in Tulln near Vienna (Austria) on the Danube. Then I went to Berlin to the Spree and now I'm in Werder an der Havel. For me, living near a river has always been part of my attitude to life. The feeling of being in the river has perhaps faltered somewhat for many people in recent years. When I was walking in the woods during the lockdown, I felt a natural need to inspire people through my music to get back into a flow.

Claus: You elaborate that the exciting moments are the ones when you're surprised where what you're playing actually comes from and you're happy in that moment; indeed, almost like a child is happy. Am I right in interpreting from this that you attach great importance to the improvisational moment?

Richard: Before our studio sessions, we often prepare for the recordings with free improvisations. So in the pieces whose melodies are kept very concise and simple, I try to invite the musicians to let anything happen at any time. So it's a mixture of simplicity and freedom. For the solo parts between the melodies, I don't give the musicians any guidelines. After we've recorded a few takes, I again like to call out a free improvisation. This time, the tape is welcome to keep running. The pieces "Geist" and "Moon" are such improvisations.

Claus: It is important to you to address not only a sworn audience, but everyone who likes to listen to music. Your music is far from mainstream. Many people are not "jazz-savvy." How can I imagine reaching these people as well?

Richard: The basic concept of my pieces is very simple. The melodies are repetitive, like in the piece "Smile". Often the pieces consist of a few chords. There are now many children in my fan base who like to puzzle to my music or listen to it in the car on the way to kindergarten. I have played in many jazz projects, but also in big pop bands like Peter Fox or the Beatsteaks. These different influences are equally important for my music.

Claus: The fact that you've been on the road with a lot of stars has taught you that it's all about authenticity, "staying yourself," as you say. I find your kind of groundedness impressive. How do you always manage to maintain this authenticity or genuineness?

Richard: The privilege of being a trumpeter in a big pop production is not having to be in the front of the spotlight, but still being able to enjoy the big stage. In addition, meditation and yoga have a regular place in my daily rhythm - whether at home or on tour.

Claus: One more question about your quartet. Listening to the music: Your group seems to have the same DNA, the chemistry is right between them. How did they find each other?

Richard: I was on tour in South America with the drummer Moritz Baumgärtner. The bassist Matthias Pichler and the pianist Michael Hornek had been playing together since they were teenagers. I hardly knew the pianist beforehand. As chance would have it, I thought of him and at that moment happened to see a CD at my brother's house on which he was playing. Listening to it, I had the intuition that he was perfect for the band.

Claus: For me, the first time I have a musician with me to hear his production on the equipment I work with for my reviews. I would be interested in your impression.

Richard: When listening to my music on your equipment, I see myself imaginarily standing again exactly at the place in the forest where the composition was created. I find myself in a meditative state. The music is reproduced very vividly, appealingly and incredibly genuinely. Listening to it is not at all exhausting. I think of my musicians, people, friends and their personalities.

Claus: Mr. Koch, thank you very much for this interview.

As a jazz listener, I am always looking for music with unusual ideas; for an otherness that differs or stands out from the average on the market. On the same evening of Richard Koch's visit, I listened to the work again and found myself in the middle of the quartet's universe after a few minutes.

The musicians act very playful, get a lot of space and yet the trumpet is the tone-setting instrument. With some titles sound collages come to my mind, which fit together to a picture or fragments, which are brought together to a coherent whole. The first track "Lettin' Go" reminds me of "ECM Jazz", with a tendency towards the work of Charlie Haden. The tracks "Flowing Up Intro" and "Flowing Up" are based on a recurring melodic arc that is beautifully played around by the quartet. It's a cycle that allows for musical excursions that want to reach into experimental jazz, but then find their way back to the basic melody at just the right moment. The piece "Karl" begins with an intro in a staccato approach. Strong I find the solos of each musical instrument. "Smile" comes, from the jazz mode, a little tamer and impresses with rocky parts. The lead melody follows clear structures with several verses. With "Geist" and "Moon" it goes on more daringly. These two pieces, composed by the band, are jazz at its purest with abrupt but well threaded rhythm, melody and chord changes. They were improvised during the recording, as I learned in the interview. The track "Whoza Mtwana" by Abdullah Ibrahim brings the album to an appropriate close. In the overall context, I would describe this album as exceptional and full of character. To hear this music from tape is a revelation. 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)