Frank Hadlich
This supergroup from Berlin is the true heir of the improvising King Crimson of the 1973-74, 2000, and the 1997-99 ProjeKcts periods. Amazing! Advise not to do ironing, dishwashing, dogwalking, or child care while listening to it.
Carsten Pieper
Buying (or pre-ordering) MoonJune music feels like a good way to start the year :-)
The previewable pieces sound very promising so I'm eagerly awaiting the release date of this adventurous project's newest chapter.
Nick Bradey
A marvelous musical journey has been created by Markus with Anchor and Burden .
In some ways this reminds me of the PAKT
releases on Bandcamp - both provide superb instrumental nuggets of lasting beauty. There is no “favourite “ track ( British spelling !)However the two groups are by no means similar to each other . Please check them out - for a marvelous auditory experience .
Robert Wright-Stasko
Even upon repeated listenings, this music always sounds new, like the first time hearing it.
Favorite track: Cerebral Transfixations.
"Anchor and Burden" goes into the 2nd round. In 2021, the "supergroup" that Markus Reuter put together to set an example of what a contemporary band can actually be, recorded five albums of cutting-edge music that was improvised live in the studio.
In 2022, now with new Germany-based drummer Asaf Sirkis (Shawn Crowder moved back to the US), the group recorded another set of breathtakingly performed pieces. The first album of the second incarnation of the band called KOSMONAUTIK PILGRIMAGE is getting released as a CD and download on Leonardo Pavkovic’s MoonJune Records in January 2023.
Markus Reuter tells us about the background and development of the band over the last year and a half:
"In 1996, Bernhard Wöstheinrich and I started working together as centrozoon and over the years we developed our very own style of uncompromising instant composition. There has been the vision to expand centrozoon to include drums and bass for over two decades, and Anchor and Burden is the embodiment of that idea. My choice to include another touch guitarist (rather than „just“ a bass player) was obvious to me, especially since this was going to be the first band to feature two accomplished players of this versatile instrument. Alexander Dowerk was my first call, as my master-student and friend. Shawn Crowder played with us during the initial sessions that produced the first five albums, which we self-released in late 2021 and early 2022.
Asaf Sirkis, with whom I have recorded many albums since 2016, joined us for the 2022 sessions, and we now have the album KOSMONAUTIK PILGRIMAGE, which to me shows the current pinnacle of achievement that this band originally set out to reach. The music is most intense and the listening and collective composition that is happening in the moment is nothing short of miraculous, even to us as the originators. This certainly isn’t easy music to consume at all, but it should satisfy the hunger of those who are in love with exceptional music. I’m glad and honored that Leonardo Pavkovic is supporting the band, and this first physical release of our music is an important event for us.
This is also the first time that the multichannel Touch Guitars® S8 instrument has been used extensively. Alexander is playing it throughout this album. Each string is being recorded and processed separately, which leads to just Alex on his own already sounding like several people playing. We’ve kept the separation of parts intact in the wonderful mix that our friend Stefano Castagna made in his Ritmo&Blu studio in Italy.
Supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, we had the opportunity to capture the whole process of the musical creation on camera, and this footage is going to be made available as promotional material as well as full video performances over the next few months."
-----
Anchor and Burden - Kosmonautik Pilgrimage
Sublevel Cells, Part I - Corridors of Silent Screams
Sublevel Cells, Part II - Cerebral Transfixations
Radion Crater Exploration, Part I - Hissing Skin
Radion Crater Exploration, Part II - The Core is Organic
Radion Crater Exploration, Part III - Shivering Walls
Radion Crater Exploration, Part IV - Self Assembly
Secret Laboratory
Splinters of Glory, Part I - Royal Augmentation
Splinters of Glory, Part II - Crown Hive
credits
released January 13, 2023
Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars AU8 and S8, Soundscapes
Alexander Paul Dowerk: Touch Guitars S8
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: Keyboards and Electronics
Asaf Sirkis: Drums and Percussion
All music written and performed by Anchor and Burden
Recorded by Arno Jordan at Castle Studios, Röhrsdorf, Germany
Mixed by Stefano Castagna at Ritmo&Blu Studio
Mastered by Lee Fletcher
Produced by Markus Reuter and Alexander Paul Dowerk
Anchor and Burden is an uncompromising progressive avantgarde doom-jazz post-metal band based in Berlin, Germany, which has
their own style of collective instant composition that defies the norms of creation. They create monolithic doom behemoths only to tear them into shreds with boundless energy in the next moment....more
supported by 299 fans who also own “Kosmonautik Pilgrimage”
When Messieurs Reuter, Trentini & Sirkis offer truce, you better comply...
Again, a cathartic experience best to be listened on good equipment and the proper dedication.
Great musicianship and appropiately delivered in 24/96 HD quality! Carsten Pieper