Hauschka

Avant-garde composer and pianist Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka) releases Salon des Amateurs, titled after a club in Düsseldorf where he annually holds a piano festival. Known for his experimental, minimal piano compositions, Hauschka continues to explore new territory by featuring collaborations with members of Calexico and Múm. On his late 2010 release, Foreign Landscapes, he upgraded from his solo adventures by adding orchestral accompaniment and on Salon des Ameteurs, he begins to treat the piano as a percussive instrument, mimicking the repetitive rhythms you would find in a club. The track names continue to take on the club theme, opening with "Radar," where one scans for event opportunities, to hailing a "Taxi Taxi" and closing with arriving home during "Sunrise." Hauschka's rich melodies and minimal, rhythmic piano structures are eloquent yet playful, offering more with repeat listens. Regardless of how this album is interpreted and labelled, Hauschka continues to grow as a prolific, unconventional, contemporary composer reaching innovative and astonishing new realms.