Before his Great Escape gig, we allowed Hauschka to break apart our piano and, whilst we nervously thumbed our insurance policy, he proceded to make it sing like an exotic bird.
Listening to a piece by Hauschka can be deceiving: What sounds like an ensemble of musicians and instruments is just one man, performing at one piano. His real name is Volker Bertelmann, and he hails from Dusseldorf, Germany, where he works with his "prepared piano." He wrests disruptive sounds from the instrument's 88 keys by outfitting the strings or mallets with objects such as ping-pong balls, aluminum foil and leather. His new album is titled Foreign Landscapes, and he recently visited NPR's studios to demonstrate his craft.
In this piece Hauschka deconstructs his preparations, pulling bits off one by one to return the piano to its original state.
Music by Hauschka
"Children" from the album "Foreign Landscapes"
FatCat 2010 with Summer Shapiro
Film by Jeff Desom
Cinematographer Jean-Louis Schuller
Steadycam Olivier Koos, Raoul Henri
Editor Chris Coupland
Costume Carole Pochard
Shot in Luxembourg
Hauschka plays Hektor Bloksky, a composer plagued by a writer's block.
with music by Hauschka
written & directed by Jeff Desom
produced by Amy Mobley
cinematographer Ben Mudge
editor Chris Coupland
sound Howard Bevan
costume Eleanor Landgrebe
Hauschka's gorgeous new record "Foreign Landscapes" will be released by FatCat Records / 130701 on October 25th 2010.
This video (part 1 of 3) was filmed at the Tiny Telephone Studios in San Francisco as Hauschka (aka Volker Bertelmann) worked alongside SF's local Magik*Magik Orchestra.
Click here: fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/artist/hauschka for more info on Hauschka and "Foreign Landscapes"
by Overture
music: Heimat by Hauschka from his album Ferdorf released by FatCat Records, 2008.
myspace.com/hauschka
overture-image.blogspot.com/2008/11/bryum-kapok-idea.html
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