Kai Fagaschinski, clarinet. Michael Thieke, clarinet. Christian Weber, double-bass. Eric Schaefer, drums & percussion.
In case it doesn’t ring a bell, The International Nothing is the psycho-acoustic clarinet duo of Mr. Thieke and Mr. Fagaschinski. Since 2000 the two clarinetists have been collectively composing multilayered sound sculptures using multiphonics, beat frequencies and difference tones as an integral part of their unique language. They have released three duo albums on the Japanese Ftarri Label.
There have been collaborative extensions in the past – check out their avant pop band The Magic I.D. with Margareth Kammerer and Christof Kurzmann – and when they first met with drummer Eric Schaefer and bass player Christian Weber in 2006 it was obvious this was also asking to become a band on its own terms: The International Nothing (… and something).
Mr. Weber and Mr. Schaefer lent not only their individual instrumental skills to the fold – it was a true collective effort which brought these seven quartet compositions into being. And though you might regularly find each of the four musicians happily involved in context of improvised music, like anything previously produced by The Nothin’ the music heard here is precisely determined, created through an extensive process of rubbing sounds and ideas against each other, long before entering the stage or pressing the record button.
The aesthetic foundation of the clarinet duo is undeniable throughout the album, but Weber and Schaefer extend the sonic spectrum strikingly. The low end explorations of the bass and drums add a mysterious darkness. A moment of pulse is no longer provided solely as a secret message within the clarinet twin’s microtonal beatings. Rhythmical figures sneak in gently, and at times you may even be boldly struck by a shameless groove.
Name a band which sounds similar and you’ll win … something.