Nik Bärtsch's Ronin – Awase | ECM Records

Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
Awase

Nik Bärtsch: piano
Sha: bass clarinet, alto saxophone
Thomy Jordi: bass
Kaspar Rast: drums

“Awase”, a term from martial arts, means “moving together” in the sense of matching energies, a fitting metaphor for the dynamic precision, tessellated grooves and balletic minimalism of Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin. Six years have passed since the last release from the Swiss group. In the interim, trimmed from quintet to quartet size and with new bassist Thomy Jordi fully integrated, Ronin has become a subtly different band. Bärtsch speaks of a new-found freedom and flexibility in the approach to the material, with “greater transparency, more interaction, more joy in every performance”. The freedom here extends to revisiting early Bärtsch modules alongside new compositions including, for the first time on a Ronin record, a piece by reedman Sha. Awase was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the south of France in October 2017 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

ECM 2603

Video by Gildas Boclé

[saeedpournejad]

It's been almost 6 years which I have been listening to Nik music every single day. I don't know what's the magic in his music which doesn't become repetitive for me. In my bad days I was just happy that I have his songs, so nothing else really mattered to me; I knew I still can enjoy my life. I don't know how I could manage all those disappointments without him.

[ChengeerLee]

Just came back from 15th Jarasum Jazz Festival (South Korea). These guys were amazing. It was a 50 minutes song, a trip, a journey...They just take you away and transport to some magical places. The best experience of the whole fest!

[paulflute]

wow.. that's some groove.. not heard of these guys before.. but I will def be listening again..

[brucegelman]

Nice to see younger men like Nick and the group brandish the polyrythmic sword of truth like Bill Buford did so many years ago with King Crimson.

[Yetipfote]

Thomy is to me one of the finest bassists on this planet currently. I don't speak of sport-bassists like Hadrien. I talk about great sound, great groove and good taste.

[stephenweigel]

very satisfying polymetric playing, I'm reminded of something like Tigran Hamasyan or Immortal Onion

[chaimean]

Both Nik and Manfred are astonishing geniuses, I hope to see more of these videos ♥️

[jane_gorelove]

It always amazes me what Ronin are able to do with rhythmic patterns and juxtaposition thereof <3

[diekrahe]

Buy it and waiting until 4 March. Best band ever .

[pectenmaximus]

Awesome video and track. Ronin always makes musical soundscapes.

[michaelkonstantinov]

Прошло восемь лет с того времени, как Nik Bärtsch's Ronin выпустили альбом Llyrìa. 4 мая 2018 увидит свет релиз Awase, записанный в Studios La Buissonne на юге Франции в октябре 2017. Awase - термин из боевых искусств, означающий «совместное движение». Этот термин применим, как к аутентичному минимализму и невероятной синхронности Швейцарской группы, так и к движению в изменении звучания коллектива. Группа сократила свой состав с квинтета до квартета, а также в ней появился новый басист. По словам Bärtsch’а, записи обладают большей свободой и прозрачностью, как в пересмотре старых «модулей» так и в написании новых. Уникальная форма «модулей» предполагает разработку гармонических и ритмических шаблонов, их композицию и свободу в дальнейшей аранжировке и интерпретации.

[davegalbandian]

Can’t stop moving to this. Strong groove! ❤️

[seanbarr]

Very cool, looking forward to a proper listen, in India probably, of the cd in it's entirety!

[Regulateur]

Quand est ce que l'album entier sera disponible à l'achat?

[devotooto]

i've waited all these years, fearing Manfred Eicher would have never vouched for Thomy Jordi, with a knot at my throat since Bjorn Meyer left Nik Bärtsch's Ronin now seven or eight years ago.

the darkest moment, when my hope was really floored, was when ECM released [Nik Bärtsch's] Mobile's Continuum about two years ago, not [Nik Bärtsch's] Ronin's. that's when i thought there would have never been another Nik Bärtsch's Ronin album on ECM ever again...

great as Björn Meyer is (and was, in his tenure with Nik Bärtsch's Ronin), i'm amazed at the growth the band has had with Thomy Jordi in the years following the change in its line-up. the way i hear it on Awase, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin have grown in control, in freedom, in flexibility, in the ability to layer sound forms onto other sound forms, while in the past they kept themselves strongly confined within patterns, in comparison.

it's easy to call a bass player virtuoso when the number of stings on his instrument grows and grows, or when such bass sports the most exotic veneer, or a daring form that you can recognise from the distance... bass players have become like apprentice sorcerers in modern music, the powerhouse to many band, and Björn Meyer got ahead of them all well before the bunch, and with unequalled grace and spirit.

but thinking how Nik Bärtsch's Ronin have grown into their current form with Thomy Jordi on bass, playing "only" a 4-string one at that... reaching these new heights with "only" four strings, well past the previous peaks (which were reached with six, or even seven, maybe)... now that's a most impressive achievement, along with fact that you'll have to strain your ears to read what he is playing, so deeply woven his sound and his playing are, in the arrangement's fabric...

you're my new hero, Thomy: i'm only practising alone, on my own, since ever, at home, can't even dare to call me a bass player.
but today's the first day in which i've moved my 6-string back to the closet, and taken the 4-string back again in the room, out of its hard-case. i'll wait for the next Nik Bärtsch's Ronin album, hopefully in less than 6 years now, and you'll maybe even have convinced me of using roundwound strings, instead of my usual flatwounds.

Jedi master you are, Thomy, as among Jedi masters you play!
and i love the new, broader, bolder paths the band is exploring (and has mastered, already: that's clear to each and every listener).

thank you, to all of you, wholeheartedly.
you dispelled my worst fears, and lifted my spirit again.
now start rehearsing the next album, please.
with love.

[JEJUGOLBANG]

🌝🌝🌝🌝🌝🌝
🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷



Jeju speakeasy music bar at
귀덕 05.2022
song requested
Would the requestor be lucky enough
to spot this comment? Finger crossed



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22년 05월 21일 9시타임
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[herculesrockefeller]

Great! Great! Love this new energetic, moving sound, it's a nice contrast to the older, more introspective things that Ronin do. If only this was contemporary pop, instead of the dreck we endure now....

[melissajmorgan]

Sounds like tantra for jazz heads... 🙃

[BrunoWiebelt]

high tempo in this recording, I prefer a little slower

[MarkDarnell-cqwy]

I am truly surprised that Manfred Eicher likes this music - EVERY Nik Bartsch record sound the Same! - it's basically Austrian Modular Furniture - One Dimensional, and ...BORING!