Ulrich Krieger
Encyclopedia
Ulrich Krieger is a German contemporary composer, performer, improviser and experimental rock musician based in Los Angeles.
Krieger's artistic work spans a broad field from contemporary classical composition and free improvisation
to experimental fusion
with electronic music
, rock
, metal and noise. His special interest lies in the exploration of the physical fringes between acoustic and electronic produced sounds. In his music and with his instrument, the saxophone, he developed an original style of playing he calls "acoustic electronics". Acoustic electronics is about using sounds that appear to be electronic but are actually produced on acoustic instruments. His probably best known experimental project with acoustic electronics is the transcription of Lou Reed
's (in)famous guitar feedback opus Metal Machine Music
, which he rearranged for chamber orchestra.
In his works for saxophone Krieger uses extended instrumental techniques, microsound
s, electronic manipulation, and saxophone-controlled feedback
s. He defies stylistic boundaries, and the sonic result of this approach, as the Los Angeles Times
critic Ann Powers
describes it, "ranges wide as he seeks the spots where noise and beauty meet".
(New York), the Universität der Künste (Berlin) and the Freie Universität (Berlin). He further pursued independent studies and research in the didjeridu and Australian Aboriginal music and culture. In his early years he studied in depth the contemporary music of the European post-war avant-garde and won related prices and residencies. Later he started to distinguish himself from the established New Music
scene which in a 2007 interview he called "in a phase of mannerism and in a crisis".
, just intonation
, multi-stylistic, minimalism, drone
). In 1991 he moved to New York. In the 'Cage of Saxophones' series Krieger recorded the complete saxophone and any-instrument works of John Cage
for Mode Records
.
John Cage authorized Krieger's arrangement of Ryoanji and Two for saxophone. A long term collaboration connects him with drone pioneer Phill Niblock
, who wrote several pieces for him. He performs on Niblock releases like YPGTPN or Touch Food. Krieger worked intensively on minimalist music, which he explored on his two 'Walls of Sound' releases. The first one focuses on drone music (Cage, Tenney
, Niblock), while the second focuses on pattern music (Reich
, Glass, Riley
).
A subject that can be found throughout his work is what he calls static music, which explores the microcosms of sound beyond semantic, narrative or dramatic gesture. It consists of elements like long tones and drones, repetition and layers of sustained pitches
. The result is an aural sculpture, an intense physical experience with the whole body, a physics and physical approach to the phenomenon of Sounds that are continuous and three-dimensional. The same elements can be found in noise and metal music, styles Krieger includes in his newer experimental projects.
In the electronic experimental field he collaborated with rock, noise and ambient artists like Karkowski
, Merzbow
, Koener
, Toeplitz. He also worked with the Berlin ensemble "zeitkratzer" for which he transcribed Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. The original LP consists of one hour of guitar feedback noise. Although considered impossible Krieger scored the piece for amplified acoustic instruments, creating an orchestral work that had a new sound: classical chamber music
instruments that sounded like electronic music. This arrangement has since then only been performed by the Great Learning Orchestra, Stockholm. Around the same time he started working with the 'silent music' composers, specially of the Wandelweiser
group such as Malfatti, Beuger, and Pisaro
.
and Alan Licht
, performing along with films of experimental film maker Stan Brakhage
(1933–2003).
Metal Machine Trio
began in 2008 together with Lou Reed and Sarth Calhoun
as an experimental free rock project.
In September 2007 he moved to California, where he is professor for composition and experimental sound practice at the California Institute of the Arts
.
Krieger's artistic work spans a broad field from contemporary classical composition and free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
to experimental fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
with electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, metal and noise. His special interest lies in the exploration of the physical fringes between acoustic and electronic produced sounds. In his music and with his instrument, the saxophone, he developed an original style of playing he calls "acoustic electronics". Acoustic electronics is about using sounds that appear to be electronic but are actually produced on acoustic instruments. His probably best known experimental project with acoustic electronics is the transcription of Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's (in)famous guitar feedback opus Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine β Ring, is the fifth solo album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975...
, which he rearranged for chamber orchestra.
In his works for saxophone Krieger uses extended instrumental techniques, microsound
Microsound
Microsound includes all sounds on the time scale shorter than musical notes, the sound object time scale, and longer than the sample time scale. Specifically this is shorter than one tenth of a second and longer than 10 milliseconds, including the audio frequency range and the infrasonic...
s, electronic manipulation, and saxophone-controlled feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
s. He defies stylistic boundaries, and the sonic result of this approach, as the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
critic Ann Powers
Ann Powers
Ann Powers is an American writer and pop music critic.Powers has been writing about popular music and society since the early 1980s...
describes it, "ranges wide as he seeks the spots where noise and beauty meet".
Early career (New Music and dissociation)
Krieger studied classical saxophone, composition, electronic music and musicology at the Manhattan School of MusicManhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
(New York), the Universität der Künste (Berlin) and the Freie Universität (Berlin). He further pursued independent studies and research in the didjeridu and Australian Aboriginal music and culture. In his early years he studied in depth the contemporary music of the European post-war avant-garde and won related prices and residencies. Later he started to distinguish himself from the established New Music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
scene which in a 2007 interview he called "in a phase of mannerism and in a crisis".
American music
Since the late 1980s he became more and more interested in American music and its different approaches (chance music, process musicProcess music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
, just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
, multi-stylistic, minimalism, drone
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
). In 1991 he moved to New York. In the 'Cage of Saxophones' series Krieger recorded the complete saxophone and any-instrument works of John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
for Mode Records
Mode Records
Mode Records is an AmericaContemporary classical music|n record label based in New York City, New York, whose primary focus is modern classical, avant-garde, and new music. Composers featured include John Cage, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, and Harry Partch. Performers include Aki Takahashi,...
.
John Cage authorized Krieger's arrangement of Ryoanji and Two for saxophone. A long term collaboration connects him with drone pioneer Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock is a composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a parallel branch in Ghent, Belgium.-Biography:...
, who wrote several pieces for him. He performs on Niblock releases like YPGTPN or Touch Food. Krieger worked intensively on minimalist music, which he explored on his two 'Walls of Sound' releases. The first one focuses on drone music (Cage, Tenney
James Tenney
James Tenney was an American composer and influential music theorist.-Biography:Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School of Music, Bennington College and the University of Illinois...
, Niblock), while the second focuses on pattern music (Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Glass, Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
).
A subject that can be found throughout his work is what he calls static music, which explores the microcosms of sound beyond semantic, narrative or dramatic gesture. It consists of elements like long tones and drones, repetition and layers of sustained pitches
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
. The result is an aural sculpture, an intense physical experience with the whole body, a physics and physical approach to the phenomenon of Sounds that are continuous and three-dimensional. The same elements can be found in noise and metal music, styles Krieger includes in his newer experimental projects.
Electronic Music / Noise and Silent Music
In the early 1990s he started working on a more electronic approach. He began developing an original amplification for the saxophone and various live-electronic signal processing set-ups.In the electronic experimental field he collaborated with rock, noise and ambient artists like Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski
Zbigniew Karkowski was born in 1958 in Krakow, Poland. He studied composition at the State College of Music in Gothenburg, Sweden, aesthetics of modern music at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Musicology, and computer music at the Chalmers University of Technology...
, Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
, Koener
Thomas Köner
Thomas Köner is a multimedia artist whose main interest lies in combining visual and auditory experiences. He's been noted for his use of low frequencies...
, Toeplitz. He also worked with the Berlin ensemble "zeitkratzer" for which he transcribed Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. The original LP consists of one hour of guitar feedback noise. Although considered impossible Krieger scored the piece for amplified acoustic instruments, creating an orchestral work that had a new sound: classical chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
instruments that sounded like electronic music. This arrangement has since then only been performed by the Great Learning Orchestra, Stockholm. Around the same time he started working with the 'silent music' composers, specially of the Wandelweiser
Wandelweiser
The Wandelweiser Group is an international group of composers/performers. It was founded in 1992 by Dutch-born flautist Antoine Beuger and German violinist Burkhard Schlothauer...
group such as Malfatti, Beuger, and Pisaro
Michael Pisaro
Michael Pisaro is a guitarist and composer. A member of the Wandelweiser Composers Ensemble, he has composed over 80 works for a great variety of instrumental combinations, including several pieces for variable instrumentation...
.
Recent projects
The basic pattern of long tones and drones, which he worked on his walls of sound releases, is still a matter of exploration in his recent, more experimental and improvising formations. More recently he intensified his acoustic electronics saxophone approach in diverse experimental band projects. Text of Light is a 2001 founded formation with Lee RanaldoLee Ranaldo
Lee M. Ranaldo is an American singer, guitarist, writer, record producer, and visual artist, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth...
and Alan Licht
Alan Licht
Alan Licht is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist.-Biography:Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968...
, performing along with films of experimental film maker Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage
James Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
(1933–2003).
Metal Machine Trio
Metal Machine Trio
Metal Machine Trio is a group founded in 2008 by Lou Reed, Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun.The group plays free improvised music, touching on various genres from free rock, free jazz, minimal music, noise, electronica, to ambient.-History:...
began in 2008 together with Lou Reed and Sarth Calhoun
Sarth Calhoun
Sarth Calhoun is an electronic musician from Brooklyn, NY.He is a member of Lucibel Crater along with Leah Coloff and Paul Chuffo. He is also a member of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio, along with Lou Reed and Ulrich Krieger. He was previously a member of Number19.He plays continuum fingerboard and...
as an experimental free rock project.
In September 2007 he moved to California, where he is professor for composition and experimental sound practice at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
.
Discography
- Expérience de vol #7: Pure Noise (artzoyd, 2009)
- Ulrich Krieger — Up & Down 23 (b-boim, 2009)
- Metal Machine Trio - The Creation of the UniverseThe Creation of the UniverseThe Creation of the Universe is Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio's first album. Metal Machine Trio is Lou Reed's band that was formed in 2008 with Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun to play music inspired by Reed's 1975 album Metal Machine Music. The first concerts of the group were on October 2 and 3,...
(Best Seat In The House Production, 2008) - Zeitkratzer — Metal Machine Music (Asphodel, 2007)
- Radu Malfatti — Wechseljahre einer Hyäne (b-boim, 2007)
- Text of Light - 012805 Rotterdam 1 (Room40, 2007)
- Text of Light — Un Pranzo Favoloso (FinalMusik, 2007)
- Airport Symphonie (Room40, 2007)
- Giacinto Scelsi — Canti Del Capricorno (Wergo, 2007)
- Luciano Berio — The Complete Sequenzas (Mode, 2006)
- Phill Niblock — Touch Three (Touch, 2006)
- A Cage of Saxophones, Vol.2 (Mode, 2006)
- Walls of Sound (Sub Rosa, 2004)
- A Cage of Saxophones, Vol.1 (Mode, 2002)
- Zeitkratzer — Soundinx (Zeitkratzer Records, 1999)
- A Cage of Saxophones, Vol.2 (Mode, 2006)