Dirk Rothbrust & Jan St. Werner: Central Spark in the Dark

Sparks usually arise precisely between two objects, but the title of the joint work by drummer Dirk Rothbrust and Jan St. Werner is deceptive. For there is no sonic center in the musical coexistence of these two subjects, but instead many different points of contact. Central Spark in the Dark decentralizes the production and reception of sound in equal measure. While Rothbrust, a member of the renowned Ensemble Musikfabrik, plays his percussion instruments, Mouse on Mars co-founder Werner devotes himself to his equipment. Acoustic and electronically produced sounds find each other in the space and in the perception of the audience in constantly new constellations. Rothbrust follows Werner’s computer-generated sounds, but with his expressive playing also provides initial impulses for Werner’s work on the hardware and software.

A form of music emerges that is not based on harmonic structures and rhythmic uniformity, but triggers one sound event after another, holds out the prospect of possible connections between them and makes it possible to experience the big picture not as a holistic project, but in discrete sound experiences. The sparks pelt down on the listeners from all around as short flashes of light, but each of them can trigger a whole firework of associations.