I'm So Awake / Sleepless I Feel . Magic I.D., The
staubgold digital 10 . analog 4
2011. cd . dl . lp
The Magic I.D. is a Berlin-based quartet exploring the juncture of song forms with abstract music. The band, consisting of Margareth Kammerer (vocals & guitars), Christof Kurzmann (vocals, g3 & lloopp), Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke (both clarinet), formed in summer 2005 after previously being connected via smaller groupings and projects. The musicians expand song forms through the prism of experimental sensibilities and mesh the two remarkably fluidly.
'I'm So Awake / Sleepless I Feel' is their second release and consists of ten intricately constructed gems, each with its own individual shape, painstakingly sequenced to form a record that becomes more than the sum of its parts. The combination of twin clarinets, guitar, subtle electronics and voices seems deceptively simple, but it makes a heady cocktail. The combined effect creates a unique soundscape; after hearing two seconds of this music, it could be mistaken for nothing else.
Magic I.D., The
Margareth Kammerer was born in Italy and moved to Berlin in 1994. She is deeply involved in the worlds of both theatre and music, and has a lengthy resume in both areas. Her unique, distinctive voice is showcased on 'I'm So Awake / Sleepless I Feel' to riveting effect.
Christof Kurzmann has been a prominent part of both the Vienna and (more recently) the Berlin improv scenes over the past decade. As an organizer, he cofounded the phonoTAKTIK festival, helped found the famous Rhiz club in Vienna, and ran the prestigious Charhizma label.
Kai Fagaschinski has leapt to prominence in the improv world over the last few years, with well-received duo projects such as Los Glissandinos (w/Klaus Filip), The International Nothing (w/Thieke) and Kommando Raumschiff Zitrone (w/Kurzmann). His music is rooted in abstraction, but with an increasingly insidious melodious element.
Michael Thieke was born in Dusseldorf and moved to Berlin in 1993. He works in a wide range of styles in the jazz and improv worlds, from a Mingus tribute to a collective trio on Ayler Records (w/Christian Weber and Michael Griener) to his own Unununium project on Charhizma to the aforementioned The International Nothing w/Fagaschinski, ranging from free blowing to sparse, pointillistic abstraction, from fully improvised to fully composed.
The quartet presented its music in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal, among others at Music Unlimited (Wels 2006), Jazz A Mulhouse (Mulhouse 2007), Angelica Festival (Bologna 2008), Teatro Fondamenta Nuove (Venice 2008), Vooruit (Gent 2009), Auditorium Parco Della Musica (Rome 2009), Serralves (Porto 2010), and Echtzeitmusiktage (Berlin 2010).