FATWIRES – THE WICKED PATH
depth of field music, 2020

In ever new combinations of organic beatscapes with live and raw bass guitar playing, John Eckhardt explores the possibilities of his instrument in sound system culture to arrive at his own brand of trippy stone age futurism. Fatwires’ „The Wicked Path“ is like a book of dubwise mediations about patterns in bass, time and space that owes as much to Aston Barrett or Digital Mystikz as to  Ash Ra Temple and György Ligeti.

The vibration of bass strings and the swing and poetry of the live musician shaped the roots of dub and soul. Here it gives rise to rich bottom end and spectral soundscapes, embedded in deep and rugged percussion that won't settle for a single style. Hands on his instrument, John Eckhardt spreads out in time and frequency while keeping the funk alive. In addition, he is now working on a complementing series of special music video clips.


Over two decades and four solo releases, John Eckhardt has unfolded an unusual cosmos of bass music. In a large variety of collaborations and a number of different solo projects from hyper-acoustic double bass to bottom-heavy sound system music, installations and even photography, he keeps on reiterating the overarching theme: bass, space and time.

The vital diversity of his approaches draws the listener into the ongoing underlying quest. Like a hunter gatherer, John Eckhardt navigates in his work a wondrous, branching bass forest that is always and never the same, until he ends up facing actual wilderness: archaic patterns slowly emerge in hypnotic detail, and begin to lead a life of their own.

www.johneckhardt.de/fatwires



The big bang must have been a low sound. (Rhein Neckar Zeitung)

John Eckhardt’s performance is absolutely stunning. (Paris Transatlantic)

Truly exceptional. (Mannheimer Morgen)

John Eckhardt, a bassist of stature. (Gramophone)

Stupéfiant et monumental! (Octopus)

John Eckhardt est vraiment vraiment deep. (CISM 89,3FM, Montréal)

Eckhardt explores that space where sound and its organization show themselves to be a natural phenomenon. (Dusted Magazine)

No written explanation will get you prepared for the tremendous incisiveness of Eckhardt’s razor-sharp playing. (Touching Extremes)

Eckhardt’s masterful and mesmerizing performances create a sense of total immersion in this deep-toned trip. (All about jazz)

The sound quality of the instrument in the hands of John Eckhardt is striking. (Improjazz)

FATWIRES - THE WICKED PATH

https://johneckhardt.bandcamp.com/album/fatwires-the-wicked-path

www.johneckhardt.de

FATWIRES Boreal Riddim

FATWIRES Equinox

FATWIRES Strings Of Dread

FATWIRES Tools That We'll Be Swinging

www.johneckhardt.de

Whether performing today’s most challenging double bass repertoire, developing his own music, or working sound systems with his bass guitar or a set of turntables - John Eckhardt is testing the limits of being a bassist on planet earth in the 21st century, working towards a broader vision of what bass always was and can become in the future.

Seeking to combine scope with depth, John Eckhardt is constantly involved in the creation of new music and has both collaborated with a wide spectrum of artists and created his personal brand of solo projects. He worked with composers ranging from Helmut Lachenmann and Pierre Boulez, top new music groups from Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Vienna and musikfabrik, improvisors from Evan Parker, Elliott Sharp and Peter Evans, to today’s new blood in a wide field of today’s music.

John Eckhardt has performed on over 40 recordings, among them five internationally acclaimed solo releases. These share an interest in low frequency and spectral immersion, spatial depth, and themes of repetition and evolutional process. 

The Evan Parker produced “Xylobiont” (Psi Rec. 2008) turned into a work in progress with 40 solo double bass recitals all over the world up to today. “Forests” (Depth of Field Music, 2014) expanded these themes into a set of branching, overdubbed bass string quartets. Along with high resolution audio and 200 photographs, they were released on a wooden USB memory stick in a transparent box containing actual forest material - nearly selling out an edition of 250 within one year. 

As Forresta, John Eckhardt performs on bass guitar and live electronics, and released “Bass, Space & Time” (Depth of Field Music, 2016) in a special edition of 100 moss-green, marbled double-vinyl records in a hand made, embroidered carton box. Each contains a foto print as front cover chosen by the listener from 100 images of John Eckhardt’s corresponding photographic project. This music is also the musical foundation of visual bassic, his long standing collaboration with analog light projection artist Katrin Bethge.

Driven by curiosity and passion for different styles, cultures and artistic means, John Eckhardt keeps drawing new connections and expands a bass cosmos of unusual dimensions. The latest addition is his Basswald DJ project that presents a diverse spectrum of bass music with a special ear for sound system culture. It is accompanied by a steady flow of downloadable podcasts.

John lives within earshot of the Hamburg harbor.

FATWIRES - THE WICKED PATH

john eckhardt