Jonas Braasch - Global Reflections

JONAS BRAASCH
 GLOBAL REFLECTIONS
(DL 34-2006)
UPC: 600323340625

From the liner notes:
The core of the project "Global Reflections" is a collection of Binaural
Soundscapes which were recorded between the years of 1998 and 2006. They are
presented on the odd tracks of this CD. What has fascinated me
most about these pieces is nature's ability to align independent events to
form interesting patterns. For this, I took the standpoint of the observer;
my credits are merely due to choosing the time and place of the recording.
Consequently, the effect is often similar to aleatoric works of music. I
hope you will share my enthusiasm about the variety of auditory icons in
each Soundscape, which makes a city identifiable. All even tracks contain
pieces of my own work. The solo improvisations in Tracks 2, 6, 10, and 14
can be seen as an abstract transformation of my perceived environment. Only
the beginning theme in Track 2 was fixed before the recording. In Track 10,
you might be able to notice my affection for repetitive and machinery like
sounds

Tracks 4, 8, and 12 consist of ensemble recordings with soprano saxophone,
Moog bass, and Soundscape fragments. One goal was to preserve the original
character of each instrument or environmental sound opposed to making their
origin unidentifiable through extensive electronic processing. Indeed in
some cases, the lengthy Soundscapes shape the character of the piece, and
again I am surprised how often their aleatoric elements tend to fit
perfectly into the music. "A Night in Battambang" was written in 1995 while
visiting my parents in Cambodia. The piece was performed using the classic
rock trio formation of lead instrument, bass and drums when I arranged the
song for this CD. "Time to Move On" is based on a Turkish 9/8 rhythm, the
Karsilama.
Originally, the piece had a theme but in the end, I liked the track better
without it. I decided to counterpoint the long, circular-breathed saxophone
phrases with abrupt changes for the remaining instruments. The ballad,
"Blues Me," started as an experiment while wondering why tenor saxophone
ballads are usually slower than alto and soprano saxophone ballads. At 50
beats per minute, this ballad is at the lower end of most Tenor Ballads.
Long Soundscape passages were chosen to reflect the lethargy.

Jonas Braasch is a soprano saxophonist, improviser/composer, acoustician and
a dedicated collector of binaural soundscapes. He grew up in the Ruhr Area,
Germany's cultural melting pot, and Pusan, South Korea. His
saxophone style expands the traditional repertoire [in both Classical Music
and Jazz idioms] by incorporating various non-western elements, as well as
original extended techniques.

Another aspect of his work is the integration of soundscapes and other
concrete elements, a clear reflection of his personal relationship with the
environment. This sensibility has inspired him to create complex synthetic
sound fields which he then integrates into his compositions. To improve the
control over the spatial parameters of these sound fields, he developed a
virtual environment to simulate sound recording techniques based on Virtual
Microphone Control (ViMiC).

This recording has been optimized for sound reproduction with headphones.

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