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Holon | 
| Artist: Nik Bartsch
Label: ECM
Category: Music
List Price: £14.99
Buy New: £13.98
You Save: £1.01 (7%)
New (19) Used (1) from £9.41
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 19067
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 001052602
UPC: 602517486720
EAN: 0602517486720
ASIN: B000ZWWRXG
Release Date: February 25, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Modul 42 | | • | Modul 41 17 | | • | Modul 39 8 | | • | Modul 46 | | • | Modul 45 | | • | Modul 44 |
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| Customer Reviews:
 Interesting rather than good December 4, 2008
Nik Bartsch's Ronin supposedly is a hate it or love it affair. Not for me, though. Reading other reviewers' opinions of Bartsch's other ECM release, "Stoa", I was supprised that one reviewer graded the album 1 star, simply because "it is not jazz". What on earth? Where does it say music has to be jazz? Are you going to dismiss Bach and Beethoven, Springsteen and Simon, because they aren't jazz?
Also, this is, after all, an ECM release! If one lable is known to produce uncatagorizable music, it is ECM. If one man in the music industry can be said to think beyond category, it is Manfred Eicher. This CD, like any other one, should be judged by its musical merits - not because it does or doesn't fulfill the listener's expectations.
In fact, one of the things I immediately liked about this album is the fact, that it is different. It has little in common with any other album in a collection of roughly a thousand. I file it under "stuff to listen to when you don't know what to listen to" - a very important compartment for me!
That said, 3 stars is no "hard buy recommendation". The problem I have with Bartsch is the fact that he really stretches my attention span to breaking point. (This is the attention span of a man who will listen to a 60 minute work of classical music, or get sucked into Coltrane's 45 minute improvisations "Live in Japan", no problem.)
The band start out with what they call a "module" (which really does seem pretentious - even more so, since the modules are not called 1 - 6, but rather "Modul 41_17" and the likes. Add Bartsch's pointless ruminations on Zen and martial arts to the mix, and I am really grinding my teeth). A module is an endlessly repeated pattern of rythm and "colors of sound" undergoing slow, minimal changes, until - at a moments notice from Bartsch - a short, sometimes fierce eruption changes it into something else, another module. This new module is then to be repeated numberless times until changed again.
Now, here is my problem: Every module is interesting in itself - it just doesn't hold enough musical content to reward my patience. Each one just seems way too long. Again and again I find myself not just waiting, but longing for the next change.
What does that leave one with? An album that is quite incomparable to anything else - and is therefor worth checking out! On the other hand, an album that turns into a strain an one's patience - or on mine, to be fair. Give it a try, anyways, it does add to what you know music can be.
 Music that reaches many people March 18, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was so pleased to see Lanky Geordie's review... What he has managed to sum up in his review is an honest appreciation for what is a staggeringly good album. You don't need to be a Jazz intellectual to understand/appreciate/dig (man) what's going on here... you just need to open your ears and your mind. Someone a whole lot smarter than I am once said, "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like." Hmmmm... If there was a bit more of that, there would be a far wider acceptance for this type of music. Some people fear Jazz because of the elitist tag that goes with it. This album, like many other great albums on ECM and similar labels (like ACT), speaks a universal language that doesn't necessarily need translation: just the sharing of the pleasure it brings. Fantastic.. I'm off to buy some of his other albums now!
Excellent second outing March 2, 2008
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Austrian pianist Nik Bärtsch created quite a stir in the jazz world when he released his first album on ECM almost two years ago. Holon is the follow up to Bärtsch's ECM debut Stoa, continuing the musical journey that began on the predecessor. Bärtsch's music is difficult to characterise; for it is not exactly jazz. Rather, it falls somewhere between minimal music, funk, avantgarde and jazz. The music is often centred around repetitive themes reminiscent of the great minimalist composers, such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass (on of my all time heroes) and Terry Riley. In addition, though Bärtsch and his fellow musicians exclusively rely on acoustic instrumentation (apart from Bjorn Meyer's electric bass), there is more than one reference to progressive types of dance and electronic music. However, those who are familiar with Bärtsch's work, particularly the ECM debut, would surely agree that his musical explorations are really about groove and rhythm. Here Bärtsch's mix of hypnotic grooves with minimalism and funk is, as far as I can tell, unique. He and his fellow musicians are masters at playing with the groove, providing an interesting and captivating listening experience. Despite the deceptively simple repetitions, the grooves are complex and always subtly changing. This is really what makes the music so colourful.
Bärtsch seems to be quite a character, too. He cites (amongst other things) Japanese martial arts and Zen philosophy as well as 70s funk as his inspirations. With his shaved head, black robes and goatee, Bärtsch actually looks a bit like a monk. Indeed, though it is hard to pin down, the music seems somewhat meditative: resting, yet constantly evolving (if that makes sense). I must admit that I like Holon, the current album, more than Stoa, largely because Bärtsch and his collaborators have perfected the musical style introduced on the latter. Holon sounds like an organic, free-flowing whole, full of ideas and beauty. Hence, I found Holon much more approachable. For me, Bjorn Meyer's bass introduction to the second piece (cryptically entitled Modul 41_17) is one of the highlights of the album because of its almost middle eastern/oriental feel. Generally, the whole album features very strong material and would be an ideal introduction to those not yet familiar with Bärtsch's art. Of course, this music is not for everyone. If you don't like minimal music, you might find it maddeningly repetitive at times (my mum --- bless her --- calls it 'psycho music' --- that's what she also said about Reich's Music for 18 musicians, though; not to mention her first encounter with Ornette Coleman's free jazz). If you are looking for improvisation, the structuredness of the material might put you off (though there is very subtle communication between the musicians --- one just has to listen very carefully). However, Holon is clearly recommended for open-minded listeners from the jazz, avantgarde, electronica scenes who are looking for a new listening experience. I would not be suprised if Bärtsch's music would start popping up, in sampled form, in electronic music soon. It's highly addictive stuff.
Pulsating high powered jazz February 29, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Normally I listen only to electronic music like Boards of Canada, PLAID, and Autechre and in terms of composition (if not format) they do have something in common with jazz but I am really relatively new to jazz.
I have listened to one or two albums on the excellent ECM label already, which I sought out to try out some of the more experimental jazz and even classical music emerging now. However I have never listened to anything in the Jazz genre which is anywhere near as sublimely beautiful and downright addictive as this album.
The earlier Nik Bartsch album was good but this is just awe-inspiring, magical listening. The first time I played it I was doing some work on my laptop and within a couple of songs I just had to stop and listen wholeheartedly to the music, it was so good. I am no expert on Jazz so I dont know what to compare it to, I just found it very uplifting, with the pulsating sound rising to masterful crescendos all the way through the CD.
I have never bothered to write a CD review before and I have bought lots of CDs via Amazon but this made me want to tell the world about it. Fantastic, I simply could not recommend it more highly. I am just hoping they tour in the UK soon.
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