Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ikarus: Echo

8

Ikarus: Echo

By

View read count
Ikarus: Echo
Music has the extraordinary power to alter time and space for its duration, as well as being used to arouse emotions. The terms "abstract" and "concrete" are often used to describe particular music in a way that is widely understood, and yet the actual definitions remain elusive.

Echo, from the band Ikarus, contains music which is extremely powerful, shocking, eerie and, in the end, beautiful. Composer and drummer Ramón Oliveras, is joined by two vocalists, Stefanie Suhner and Andreas Lareida, pianist Luca Fries and bassist Mo Meyer to produce nine tracks that mesmerize, lull and frequently shock.

Both singers' voices are extremely pure and they are used as instruments since there are no words and frequently not even syllables. The effect ranges from that of the very early vocal music of say, The Anonymous Four, to pure frequency interference, from the soft and pure to the harsh and dissonant.

The piano, bass and drums are extremely well recorded and create a huge sound stage with a deep, deep bottom that envelops in what feels like absolute blackness. Whatever happens, and there many rapid shifts of sound and mood, in front of, but within, this blackness.

What must be said is that those familiar with Nik Bärtsch's Ronin (see here, here and here) will feel quite at home with the music of Ikarus, and in fact Echo is a Ronin Rhythm Records release. Stylistic labels can be bandied about and RRR lists itself as "a platform for new creative music between new minimal, funk and ritual groove music."

Ikarus shares much with Ronin, especially when multiple rhythms and meters collide and move in and out of phase, but nevertheless with an atomic pulse always present. However, the vocals sounds set Ikarus apart, as does their music's emotional and stylistic range. Each tune is a miniature musical story which spins out through the arrangement, carry all along with it.

In the end, words and labels can only hint at this music's astonishing impact, and a sample of what this terrific band does is here.

Get ready for a musical journey that will leave you breathless and exhilarated.

Track Listing

Sanctuary; Ligulin; Locrya; Loss Of Fire; Hotaru; City Of Glass; Subzero; Sakura; Revilio.

Personnel

Ikarus
band / ensemble / orchestra

Stefanie Suhner: vocals; Andreas Lareida: vocals; Lucca Fries: piano; Mo Meyer: bass; Ramon Oliveras: drums.

Album information

Title: Echo | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Ronin Rhythm Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.