Monbijou - Sound from the bridge

Sha plays bass clarinet and alto saxophone and usually does so as part of Ronin and Mobile, the two ensembles around Nik Bärtsch, whose "Ritual Groove Music" is one of the most innovative and successful Swiss music exports. Under the banner of Sha's Feckel, Sha has previously appeared on his own (the album Greatest Hits is a real hit). This time, however, he really is completely solo: a bass clarinet, a saxophone, the occasional hint of an electronic loop, a stool, a person - and a huge cave sound. The reason for this is in the title.

The Monbijou Bridge in Bern is an impressive 337.5 meters long, and there are two concrete tunnels that lead from one bank of the Aare to the other under the roaring cars. Sha sat down in one of them and played live the three pieces that can be found on this wonderful mini-LP - a short intro, an almost half-hour centerpiece, Mon Bijouthen a dessert, MMin a conventional six-minute length.

It usually makes us suspicious when musicians talk about the merits of their videos. Isn't the music alone enough to earn our attention? The opposite is true here. That's why the atmospheric video recording of the performance was released a few weeks before the recording. The images, sparse in terms of decor (concrete, sheet metal, glow sticks) but extremely multifaceted in terms of their almost monochrome colors, establish the site-specific mood without robbing the recordings of their magic. The music is similarly subtle. After the delicate, short intro, Sha gives himself plenty of time and space to develop his themes in the meditative centerpiece, and then lays on the loops a little thicker in the third part. The feisty sound of the bass clarinet and sax seems even richer thanks to the tunnel reverb. The traffic, which can be heard thundering dully over the bridge, contributes its own unusual variation on the concept of a "drone". A gripping work in every respect.