„Klanghorizonte“, Deutschlandfunk (September 24th)

Talking guests, at least that‘s the plan, are Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater), Graeme Thomson, and, maybe, more. For example, in the Cologne radio archive there will be some digging for my Laurie Anderson portrait from 1994. in 36 years of free-style radio on late evenings and all night through, i had my fair amount of interviews with all musicians involved in this „blue hour“. I only never met Seefeel and Jonathan. Graeme Thomson‘s wonderful book „In Another World – The Four Seasons of Talk Talk“ made my memories of two encounters with Mark Hollis even more visceral and moving. The book tells the story of a band and the people in it, but it  is above all a biography of four records: The Colour Of Spring. Spirit Of Eden. Laughing Stock. Mark Hollis.

Daniel Lanois: Belladonna Nocturne (2026)

„If you’ve never ‘got’ Lanois, or been able to give over to him, this might be the one. If you’re already a fan, there is so much here inside such an incredible telescoping of time. This is my instant pick for album of the year so far. It has already nestled so deep into my brain that I can hear it when I’m not even listening to it.“ (Simon Sweetman)

Lambchop: Punching The Clown (2026)

„Anfang 2024 hörte ich auf dem Weg zur Tankstelle ein Lied im Radio. Nur ein minimalistisch mit einem einzigen Akkord begleitetes Banjo und eine kleine Gruppe von Stimmen. Es schien in diesem Moment perfekt zu sein, so wie der Moment selbst perfekt wurde. Ich habe nie herausgefunden, wer das war – es klang ein bisschen wie früher Country-Gospel? Auf meiner Suche entdeckte ich eine Art des Gospelsangs, die als „Lined-Out-Singing“ bekannt ist und angeblich Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts in Schottland entstanden ist. Sie wanderte in die Appalachen aus und wurde zu einer wenig bekannten Wurzel des amerikanischen Gospel und Country … Eine spontane Art des A-cappella-Gesangs im Call-and-Response-Stil, angeführt von einem Vorsänger mit einem Chor von Sängern, der die rohe Schönheit und Kraft der menschlichen Stimme mit ihren einzigartigen Facetten offenbart – seine schmucklose Einfachheit verlieh den gesungenen Worten Gewicht. Ich wollte eine Platte aufnehmen, die diese Art von Musik nachahmt.“ (Kurt Wagner, Lambchop)

Shearwater: The New World (2026)

„There is arguably no modern musician working today who has better assimilated the approach Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis took on his masterworks Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock: a richly orchestrated art music assembled in a way that feels simultaneously intimate in sentiment and gigantic in scope.“ (Louis Pattison, Uncut, August 26)

Seefeel: Sol.Hz (2026)

Talk Talk: Laughing Stock (1991)

Ralph Towner: Solstice (1975)

Laurie Anderson: Bright Red (1994)

„We’d look out at the river, and if the music seemed to be naturally going with it, this was our editing device. Brian’s motto was: if it goes with the river, it goes on the record. So, for example, if the river was really choppy and active, and the music was going pah-bah-dah-dah – whoa, that looks so great! – or if it was smooth and there was some kind of ambient thing going on. We always tried to match – tried to feel – the naturalness of the river, and in this case the Hudson, and if it seemed to fit. It was a very infallible rule while recording „Bright Red“ in Manhattan, because it showed you when you were making it too difficult, not natural.“ (Laurie Anderson)

Jana Winderen: Spring Bloom in the Marginal Ice Zone (2018)

„‘Spring Bloom in the Marginal Ice Zone’ is recorded mostly in the Barents Sea and Arctic regions and the creatures you find there. The Bearded Seal´s hauling sound is recorded right there under the Sea-ice in the Barents Sea. I would say that already out in the field when pushing record the composition process has already started; you make choices when you place the microphone or hydrophones, or ultrasound detectors in a certain place and start listening long before you record anything. Ideas start to form at this early stage. Its all down to the choices you make; even if you choose to leave the recording gear out by itself in the field, where you place it is a compositional choice.“ (Jana Windern, from my 2018 interview)

Brian Eno: Nerve Net (1992)

Nearly everybody has a story to tell with „field recordings“, that will always trigger the knowledge about some of the most adventurous sounds being „out there“. Some of those albums became famous, some very much stayed under the radar (very much like the spaces they had been exploring). Even the so-called well-known can easily turn into stranger things. By  chance, I once discovered an old album named „Trains in the Night“ beautifully capturing the sounds of old locomotives in England‘s vast hinterland, and the nature around. Listening to the compositions of artists like Jana Winderen or BJ Nilsen, is always a special experience. Is the howling of the wind real, or enhanced by electronics? How can someone „document“ sounds that cannot be be heard within our „normal“ range of perception? In a way the act of „cartographing“ distant areas includes sharpened senses, adequate tools – and inventiveness. When I was sinking, literally, into the „music“ of Jana‘s „arctic“ record, I couldn‘t help but remember, in moments passing by, old sci-fi movies and books, but from minute to minute I was more and more drawn into the sounds themselves and forgetting my sepia-tinged nostalgia. Where-am-I-music of a rare kind.