AMBIQ

LP version. 180-gram vinyl. German pianist Max Loderbauer, in continuing his work with the Buchla 200e synthesizer system, joins two Swiss musicians and veterans of ECM Records, clarinetist Claudio Puntin on clarinets, mini mallets, and electronics; and percussionist Samuel Rohrer on drums, Kaoss Pad, and electronics to form ambiq, a group dedicated to the exploration of remote musical universes. Their debut self-titled album, released on Rohrer's label arjunamusic records, aims to open doors of perception to the electronic scene by means of enhanced possibilities of instrumental interaction. Rohrer, as an improvisatory sound pilot, is able to elegantly navigate beats and anti-beats. He expands the world of rhythmic functions with his artistic, cross-style overall concept to include striking emotional components. His percussion style flows with an implicit quality into his electronic arrangements, returns enriched with seductive energy, and presents itself as the crucible for the contributions of his fellow passengers. Claudio Puntin's unmistakably smooth sound as he plays on all members of the clarinet family, with the support of mallets and electronics, is familiar from numerous CDs and performances, as well as from film, audio-drama, and theater productions. His live concept of floating electronic spaces and layers of overtones and loops, which he customizes for his clarinet sounds, opens up divine dimensions while creating the harmonic, melodic, and tonal orbit for the satellites of his fellow musicians. With its unique blend of modular synthesizer, drums, electronic rhythms, clarinet, and electronics, ambiq develops mysterious electro-acoustic soundscapes, somewhere between the outer reaches of techno, electronica, and jazz.'