„Systems of Romance“, and Punkt 2025

Quite incredible, but true, the following story! In the spring of 1983, a man named Randall Wulff (aka Lewis) turned up at the Music Lab Studio in Los Angeles with a white Mercedes convertible, an attractive girlfriend, perfectly styled hair, and a (succinctly put) handful of ethereal synth-pop-folk songs. Wulff commissioned photographer Ed Colver, best known for documenting the West Coast punk scene, to shoot the stark monochrome album cover. By the time Colver realised that the cheque had bounced, Wulff had already disappeared. There were rumours that he had gone to Las Vegas or possibly Hawaii, but most likely he had returned to Alberta, Canada, where a quarter of a century later a vinyl collector named Jon Murphy found a copy of ‘L’Amour’ at a flea market. Private pressing.

What a strange round of songs! If you find sounds that are constantly moving close to their own dissolution exciting. ‘The closer you listen, the more unsettling – and yet enticing – it all sounds.’ Randall Wulff had painted his masterpiece when it came to disappearance and submersion. If David Lynch had heard this album back then, he would have transported one or two songs from it into the Twin Peaks soundtrack. And Angelo wouldn’t have complained. Neither would Julee Cruise. Light in the Attic made the album available years back. By now, „L‘Amour“has turned into a nearly buried treasure again.

And, what made me, in the first place, return to the unabashed romantic songs – „romantic“ with a twist – by Lewis, or Jan Bang‘s „Reading The Air“? A guy named Chris Duncan who‘ll be joining the artists of PUNKT 2025! Of course it was Jan Bang who discovered him. We changed a few mails in regards to that rare breed of uninhibited romanticism with a decent quantum of blue & noir. I highly recommended Jessica Pratt‘s opus, „Here In The Pitch“.

The new program – HERE – is full of highlights, amongst them the première of „After The Wildfire“, a new spoken word-project by Erik Honoré, Trygve Seim’s „Different Rivers“ (25 years after its ECM release, followed by an unforgettabele review of Konrad Heidkamp in „Die Zeit“), Jon Balke presenting „Skrifum“ live on stage – and Chris Duncan!

2 Kommentare

  • Michael Engelbrecht

    A propos Different Rivers and Kontad Heidkamp:

    „Mit dem Lamento Sorrows beginnt das erste Album von Trygve Seim unter eigenem Namen, der getragen schreitende Tonfall wird sich nicht mehr ändern: nicht im summbaren Ulrikas Dans, nicht im verwunschenen Tonmärchen Intangible Waltz, nicht in der minimalistischen Coltrane-Ekstase von The Aftermath/African Sunrise.

    Und doch herrscht hier nicht Trauer, sondern beschwingte Schwermut. Der 1971 in Oslo geborene Saxofonist vereint auf Different Rivers drei Ströme, die unter verschiedenen Vorzeichen immer häufiger zusammenlaufen: die Kammermusik des Cool-Jazz, die volksliedhafte Melodik und die schwebenden Klänge der elektronischen Ambient-Konstrukteure, denen ein dritter Ton schon fast als geschwätzig gilt. …

    Das Schöne daran: Alle Stücke ‚ mehr komponiert als improvisiert – sind unterirdisch von Nebenflüssen durchzogen. Dies können Klangschlieren eines Akkordeons sein, kontrollierte Ausbrüche des Saxofons, die atmende Trompete von Arve Henriksen oder die Stimme von Sidsel Endresen.

    „Breathe and you know you are alive“ spricht sie im Gedicht von Annabel Laity zur rosenkranzartig wiederholten Tonfolge der Bläser. „Atem wäre kein schlechter Titel des Albums gewesen.“

    Konrad Heidkamp, Die Zeit

  • ijb

    Already bought the „early bird“ festvial ticket.
    I think this option is only available until today.

    Next I’ll need to fiond an affordable place to stay. And decide how I’ll be travelling this time. (I will go on a trip to Hardangervidda with Benedicte before the festival.)

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