Folk music: brash and bold

No, the ladies and gentlemen of Zeitkratzer are not making fun of themselves. The ten musicians have already worked with Arnold Schönberg, with Lou Reed's pop music and with electronic experimental music. Now it's the turn of folk music, which they approach no less brashly than their free Schönberg interpretation. A propulsive Romanian rhythm (Bouchimich), a melody from the Swiss canton of Valais (Ländler) or a folk music recording from Appenzell (Zäuerli) - in the hands of the ten Berlin avant-garde musicians, all of this becomes a strangely rugged, indeed quite original music, which has only one catch: it hardly corresponds to the (sound) image that many have of the ideal world of folk music.

Ultimately, however, the Zeitkratzers are absolutely right: their vital pieces are no less based on a construction than much more sterile, glossy productions of folk music on evening television programs. When Romanian ingredients are combined with Bavarian and Swiss sounds and songs, the gentlemen take the "fluid" principle of orally or musically transmitted folk music to the extreme, so to speak. Because they discover many a dissonant and microtonal overlap with 20th century art music during their research in the archives, the CD Neue Volksmusik is an immediate listening pleasure full of energy and excitement. Incidentally, it was recorded at the Alpentöne festival in Altdorf.

To sum up: sometimes it's not the often cerebral avant-gardists who are ahead, but the farmers. Of course, this is also a cheeky exaggeration - but definitely worth thinking about.