Marco Lucchi, based in Modena, Italy, and Henrik Meierkord, based in Stockholm, Sweden, have a lengthy collaboration to their reciprocal credit, and they accomplish it far and near alike. A testament to the interplay of their work together is that a listener might be hard-pressed to discern which of their recordings are the result of long-distance file-trading, and which occurred when the two managed to be in the same place at the same time.

Several aspects of their respective music-making serve them well as creative partners. First of all, both tend toward the ambient, given as they are generally to a slow pace and to a sensibility that manages to be at once radiant and intimate. Secondly, while both are multi-instrumentalists, there is a complementary nature to their specialties, Lucchi being more of a keyboardist, Meierkord more of a string player. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, they are both immersed in techniques drawn from electronic music.

In particular, both men are experienced with live multitrack recording, in which they process and layer their own performances in real time. Meierkord is fond of layering sinuous tones to create scenarios of unique dimensions. It becomes uncertain — even unimportant — to the listener what preceded what, so intricate is his deployment of interplay. Lucchi likewise finds parallels between classical orchestration and the opportunity for drones lent by modern synthesizers; in a small room he can create a vast space. There is often an oceanic depth to such efforts, part composed and part improvisatory, in which playing is a tool toward composition, rather than the other way around.

Throughout their new record, there is an underlying melancholy, a nostalgic beauty, and a reflective consideration — a virtue that is foundational to their ongoing collaboration. The result is particularly rich in plaintive scene setting, as on the glacially paced “La bestia umana,” which emerges from a neighborly field recording of a dog barking, and “Kosmisk Strålning II,” which maintains a dream-like quietude, more shadow than light. One “Like tears in rain”, what sounds like a synthesizer is, in fact, a piano, a recording of which has been stretched beyond the point of it being readily identifiable.

On first listen, their leaning toward unimpeachable steadiness can seem uniform, but listen more closely and you’ll recognize how explicitly they emote on a track like “The Third Stage,” due not just to the reaching melodic surges (which, in turn, match the sampled recordings of bird calls) but to the slight discordances that suggest trouble and tension. In a different manner, there is “A warm and golden October,” which balances breaking-dawn hush with piercing overtones. That track features a motif at the end, played on a celesta; those bell-like tones edge the piece out of dreaminess without entirely breaking the spell.

The greatest outlier — dog barking notwithstanding — may be on “Oändlig,” not just for its fierce pulse, but because of its more immediately electronic vibe. “Oändlig” is an exceptional piece, bringing to mind the minimalism of Terry Riley and the rave classics of Underworld.

Marc Weidenbaum 


Produced and mixed by Marco Lucchi and Henrik Meierkord
Marco Lucchi: mellotron, piano, celesta and synthesizers
Henrik Meierkord: cello, viola, zither, piano, organ and FX
Mastered by Dionis Afonichev (Dionisaf)
Cover picture by Dionis Afonichev (Dionisaf) with AI
Artwork and cover design by Dionis Afonichev (Dionisaf)

https://www.chitrarecords.com

Lieder Ohne Worte

The Third Stage

Experimental ambient music label.

Surreal music for a deep listening experience.

https://progettosonoro.bandcamp.com/follow_me
progettosonoro è Marco Mascia, accumulatore seriale (e parallelo) di strumenti musicali e oggetti sonori e (non)musicista. Dal 2007 fa parte (con Manuel Lain) del duo Le Pecorecaramellate che ha all'attivo un Cd (Una botte e via! edito da Sesto Esercizio Records) e ha partecipato (Cagliari, 10 Ottobre 2015, Nuovo Panificio) al Multiversal EXP-OFF. 
Il 1 Maggio 2016, sempre al al Nuovo Panificio, ha partecipato, con la Roaring Pianolas Orchestra, alla perfomance live "pianoltre"

collaborations, shared projects, ideas ..

http://marcolucchi.bandcamp.com/

https://musichevirtuali.blogspot.com/

www.musichevirtuali.org

https://twitter.com/musichevirtuali

https://www.facebook.com/pages/orchestra-eclettica-e-sincretista/111790807863?fref=ts

"I'm a mellow artist, ageing 69. I love and release eclectic music, from post-classical to drone. My fave instrument is the Mellotron."

Così, sinteticamente, di solito mi presento.

In genere compongo musica partendo dal suono delle tastiere, ma il mio vero strumento è il registratore.

O i software di registrazione.

"I was made for loving and making recorded music."

Confido da sempre nel potere evocativo e orfico della musica, nella sua capacità di riconsegnarci a mondi più veri e più giusti, più belli di quelli in cui di solito viviamo.

"Ich bin ein kosmische Kurier"

I'm using these tools: Mellotron micro, Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer, Behringer Crave, IK Multimedia Uno synth, Roland Juno synth, Volca keys, Casio digital piano, micropiano Korg, Manetron (iPad app), iTampura (iPad app), Eko 11 (...) string acoustic guitar, electric violin, Orla analogic expander, tenor, treble and descant recorders, soprano and tenor tin whistle, Akai, Roland, Alesis and Arturia controllers, upright piano, Squier 3/4 electric guitar, melodica, Bubble Harp (iPad app), Schoenhut toy harp, soprano ukulele, Eko acoustic guitar, Peavey Composer acoustic guitar, Kurzweill micropiano, Boss and JamMan loop stations , Behringher multi-fx, Olympus portable digital recorder, Phonic, Behringer and Yamaha mixers, Audacity, Paulstretch, various players and plug-ins .. (that's all, folks, I think ..)

latest releases:

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/the-book-of-dreams
https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/lieder-ohne-worte 
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/suggestiva
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/venusia
https://hibernate.bandcamp.com/album/as-riddled-as-the-tide

for further works please go to my bandcamp page
https://marcolucchi.bandcamp.com/

and to 
http://webbedhandrecords.com/
http://www.laverna.net/home/
https://silentflow.org/

iTunes and Spotify as well ..
feed and share ..
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1TRilVaDaQw0ksGqU5tuCh?si=zXD-0xFWS-2yrUs542SH9A

SoundCloud è la piattaforma musicale che preferisco perché è soprattutto il regno degli ‘amateurs’, di quelli che fanno musica per sé e per gli amici .. come quando da ragazzi si condividevano con gli altri le invenzioni e le creazioni .. io sostanzialmente sono rimasto lì e così .. non sempre, ovviamente, ma spesso ci trovo delle cose che valgono altrettanto - se non di più - rispetto a quelle più affermate e conosciute

D'autres pièces finalisées ou non, mes mises à jour et mes remerciements.
Téléchargement libre pour collaboration future !
Other pieces finalized or not, my updates and my thanks.
Free download for future collaboration!

The Third Stage

Chitra Records