Friday, September 18, 2015

GERMANY: Ikarus-Echo (Ronin Rhythm Records 2015)



ECHO is the first album by IKARUS, the band surrounding 25-year old composer and drummer Ramón Oliveras. Together with Stefanie Suhner (Vocals), Andreas Lareida (Vocals), Lucca Fries (Piano) and Mo Meyer (Bass) Oliveras realizes his elaborate compositions with skilful consistency. The band, which considers itself a musical organism, involves the wordless vocals as additional instruments and tone colours. Asked about his musical influences, Oliveras responds: "Bartók meets James Blake, Arvo Pärt meets Eivind Aarset. We call our sound Contemporary Evocative Music."

The result is music that is settled between silence and storm and gains its momentum and energy from nimble minimal-grooves, psychedelic soundscapes and jazz-related interlocking rhythms. Both rugged riffs and delicately interwoven melodies are part of ECHO's musical dramaturgies - the songs frequently oscillate between these opposing elements: as organic transformations or sudden rifts.

IKARUS aspire to create sensuous post-genre Music, which despite the above-mentioned influences remains first and foremost self-referential. It strives to excite the listeners’ sense of fantastical hearing and lure them into a state of mind where surreal dreams and ghosts are evoked.

Text: Kim Longin, Ronin Rhythm Records