Nik Bartsch's Mobile Continuum (2 LP)

180g Vinyl Double LP Reissue!
In the beginning there was Mobile, Swiss keyboardist/composer Nik Bärtsch's original all-acoustic group. Now, after four ECM recordings with his other band Ronin (three studio and one live), Bärtsch presents a new album featuring Mobile augmented on three pieces by a string quintet.
Founded in 1997 Mobile is effectively the wellspring of Bärtsch’s ritualistic approach to music making, nourished by his concepts of reduction and repetition as well as his fascination with Japanese culture. Here textures from jazz, funk, new music, minimal as well as ritual and sacred music are organically interwoven. Bärtsch and his partners Kaspar Rast, Sha and Nicolas Stocker aim for an energetic total group sound rather than displays of soloistic virtuosity.
"Fascinating networks of relationships, which occasionally a string quintet classically refines with floating sounds. Oscillating in sensual puzzle pictures, 'Continuum' proves to be an intense flow of overwhelming emotions despite all the conceptual rigor." - Sven Thielmann, HiFi+Records
"Where Ronin – the musicians overlap – place the emphasis more heavily on the complex rhythmic interlocking of the modules (that's what he calls his numbered tracks) and give a (deceptively) more compact impression, the insistently repeated variations here seem more thoughtful, more spunky, more expansive." - Markus Schneider, Rolling Stone (Germany)
"Bärtsch recorded the new album with his quartet Mobile - with the drummers Kaspar Rast and Nicolas Stocker as well as with Sha on the (contra)bass clarinet; a string quintet also joins in three pieces. Bärtsch knows how to benefit from these tonal possibilities. In the tonal condensation of Mobile, the finely tuned mechanism of the instruments often turns into something magical, which underlines the ritual character of this music. But the strictness and conciseness of the specifications is now repeatedly played around by tonal diversity and stylistic variants. Where the grand piano initially creates shimmering impressions, it later heats up into an angry furor that discharges into tremolo-like joints. And when Mobile cultivates a sound that involves space in order to let time breathe in it, the discreet yet pointedly used string sounds create flat colorfulness and pulsating expressiveness." - Üeli Bernays, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
"Mobile remains a vehicle well suited to Bärtsch's sophisticated approach to composing and arranging. There is less of the Asian influences that inspired some of Bärtsch's earlier work with the group, but Mobile remains an inclusive amalgam of progressive jazz and minimalism. Without dominating the pieces in which they appear, the strings add something new to that pallet, reflecting Bärtsch's interest in György Ligeti and other classical composers." - Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz
"Mobile remains a vehicle well suited to Bärtsch's sophisticated approach to composing and arranging. There is less of the Asian influences that inspired some of Bärtsch's earlier work with the group, but Mobile remains an inclusive amalgam of progressive jazz and minimalism. Without dominating the pieces in which they appear, the strings add something new to that pallet, reflecting Bärtsch's interest in György Ligeti and other classical composers. With its variety of styles, ‘Continuum’ is the best of Mobile's albums to date, despite the very high bar set from the beginning." - Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz
"Nik Bärtsch’s Mobile is a unique acoustic group that creates shapely and pristine chamber jazz. The eight tracks on ‘Continuum’ are marvels of control and tension – as much atmosphere as groove. At the same time, these deeply worked cuts are intensely rhythmic, if irregular. This is an album of edgy beauty." - Carlo Wolff, Downbeat
"‘Continuum’, Bartsch’s new ECM release takes a break from the funkier approach found on his previous releases with Ronin, for the label, ‘Stoa’ (2006) ‘Holon’ (2008), ‘Llyria’ (2010) and ‘Live’ (2012) to one balanced in rhythm and in the subtle changes of texture found in interlocking melodic and harmonic lines. The addition of an expanded string section on three numbers really fleshes out the slowly changing melodic and harmonic phrases […] ‘Continuum’ propels the ever evolving landscape of Nik Bartsch’s utterly compelling concept. It’s an album where it’s depth is continually revealed over time. It’s a concise shining example of what the drama and passion Bartsch and company are able to bring to their intensely focused music that in the past has embraced it’s ritual origins by going on for as long as thirty six continuous hours. The possibilities in this concept for Bartsch are seemingly endless, and the way he is able to bring his vision to each group he leads is breathtaking, full of twists, and fascinating to behold."- CJ Shearn, Jazz Views
"The genius of Nik Bärtsch’s groups lies in their ability to take simple figures and do some real sophisticated things with seemingly so little. That repetitive figure ends up being the only ‘simple’ thing about the music, while the rhythmic patterns and modulations push this music into innovative territory. That Bärtsch can apply this innovation so effectively with a bass-less combo and even with a small string section further validates the soundness of this unique approach." - Victor S. Aaron, Something Else Reviews
"Bärtsch offers eight tracks that harness his piano structures and tangle them with layers of percussion and clarinet to create something that at quieter moments can recall an inside-out form of chamber music while at others a kind of futuristic dance music fusion." - Chris Barton, L.A.Times

Nik Bärtsch's Mobile

• Nik Bärtsch, piano
• Sha, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet
• Kaspar Rast, drums, percussion
• Nicolas Stocker, drums, tuned percussion
• Etienne Abelin, violin
• Ola Sendecki, violin
• David Schnee, viola
• Solme Hong, cello
• Ambrosius Huber, cello