The International Nothing (DE)
Kai Fagaschinski | clarinet & composition Michael Thieke | clarinet & composition
The International Nothing is a Berlin-based psychoacoustic clarinet duo formed by Michael Thieke and Kai Fagaschinski in 2000. They collectively compose layered sound sculptures with a musical language that comprises multiphonics, beat frequencies, and difference tones.
For two and a half years, the duo has been working obsessively on their new long-form composition "Just None of Those Things,” in which their two clarinets gel as one multilayered entity. While their signature is still recognizable, the music is also their furthest reach yet into the abyss of weirdness. An exploration of the futuristic and primordial at once, the work is their rawest and yet most refined to date.
The duo's works have been released on five albums by the Japanese label Ftarri.
Press for "Just None of Those Things":
But the duo's greatest achievement has been their quiet yet steady advance as composers, and this new work—the product of two and a half years of research and practice—makes plain that Fagaschinski and Thieke are far more than a couple of sound-obsessed experimenters. I was fortunate enough to hear this piece played live during a lull in Covid's second summer, and this recording is every bit as memorable as that experience, except it allows me to notice far more of the detail-rich action. While it's a single piece, the work goes through numerous sections, opening with aerated long tones and spilled breath that coalesce into sine tone-like shimmers. Soon fluctuations interrupt the calm for a braided compositional/textural rollercoaster ride—albeit a calm spin—where the psychoacoustic effects transform a series of terse motifs into a masterfully woven Persian carpet sound.
Phrases and effects cycle on and on, but as they do there is a constant transformation, shifting between woozy undulation, hypnotic gliding, and pointillistic splattering. But the duo pushed those micro permutations into ever-shifting terrain, flowing from sequence to sequence with an elusive but unerring logic that's deeply satisfying and conceptually whole. You need to be willing to surrender to the music, because that's when the freedom kicks in.
by Peter Margasak, The Wire (UK, 03/2022)
Kai Fagaschinski klarinett Michael Thieke - klarinett
The International Nothing er en psykoakustisk klarinettduo basert i Berlin. Duoen består av Michael Theike og Kai Gagaschinski og ble etablert i 2000.
Duoen komponerer kollektivt, lagvise lydskulpturer bestående av multiphonics, beattoner og difference tones.
De siste årene har duoen jobbet med deres nye long-form komposisjon ‘Just none of those things’, hvor klarinettene smelter sammen og oppstår på nytt som en enhet i mange lag. I en utforskning av det futuristiske og primordiale på en gang, er verket deres råeste og likevel mest raffinerte til dags dato.
Duoen har tidligere gitt ut fem album av det japanske labelet Ftarri.