Mich Gerber - Mystery Bay (1997)

«Mich Gerber nous délivre un premier album unique. Une musique venue d'ailleurs qui ne se danse que sur la Lune comme dirait l'autre... Des parcours languinant de contrebasse mélancoliques, une rythmique mi-percu mi-contrebasse sacadée. Le tout vous faisant "tripper à mort". Des airs orientaux, tribaux, pour ce Suisse dont l'avenir était les grands orchestres symphoniques. Un revirement total pour nous produire cet album pur.» (dMute)

«Originally, Mich was interested in Fine Arts and went to the College of Art to learn Theatre Painting. Attracted by the visual effect of the double bass he decided to buy it just to have one of these wooden sculptures at home, and began playing around on it a little bit. He soon found out that he liked the vibe of the double bass and his fascination for this instrument grew. He played it more and more until he decided to go to a conservatory after he finished his education as a theatre painter. After his graduation from the conservatory in 1983 he played a few years in the classical Symphony Orchestra of Bern. He then left to play in various bands, experiencing all manner of styles from improvised music to Jazz, free Jazz, from Rock onto hardcore, and then in an Avant-garde classical orchestra with hardcore tendencies. Then at that point he made up his mind to pursue a solo career. Mich had developed quite an unusual style for a double bassist. His debut album, Mystery Bay, was filled with melancholic, middle eastern sounding melodies interspersed with smooth techno beats as well. His second album and his most recent Amor Fati melts tradition into modernity by melding the sounds of the double bass with DJ 'scratching'.» (Global Bass, read the interview)

Another exhaustive profile here

Official site (de/en/fr): http://www.michgerber.ch/

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