Christoph Gallio - soprano saxophone
Olaf Rupp - electric guitar
Recorded by Olaf Rupp at Nalepastudios in Berlin on April 29 and May 10, 2009
Edited by Christoph Gallio & Olaf Rupp
Mixed and masterd by Olaf Rupp
(excerpt, vbr mp3)
Audio CD, 6 panels digipak
50 minutes+
Release date: December 2009
First edition of 1000
12 Euros + shipping
click HERE to make your order
Review(s)
Vital Weekly
It is not my way of doing things, but this time I would like a start complimenting myself. For many years I listen a lot to records of free improvised music. Many of them are okay, many of them are mediocre. In spite of this listening experience, I often feel not sure anymore whether I still have the capacity to detect improvised music that really makes a difference. But luckily I can, concluding from listening to this very convincing and amazing work by Rupp and Gallio.
The CD has a very cryptic title: 'Fasane Hula Punk'. I can't link it to something that makes some sense. The thirteen improvisations are not of any help. Instead of equal mysterious names, they carry numbers only, from 1 up to 13. The improvisations have to stand on their own feet and that is exactly what these improvisations do. Both gentlemen had a very fruitful encounter. The name of swiss sax player Christoph Gallio occurred earlier in Vital Weekly with some of his releases for the Percaso label. Olaf Rupp is a new player for me. He really impressed me with the depth and richness of his style and sound. He is an autodidact from Germany who developed his very own style of playing the electric guitar. He has several solo albums out on Grob and participated on many others albums. In the past he worked with Lol Coxhill, Michael Wertmüller, John Zorn, Paul Lovens, Thomas Lehn, Butch Morris, Tony Buck, among others. The recordings for this new CD were done in Berlin on two days early in 2009. There was a deep mutual understanding and respect in action here. Every piece illustrates that it was a very intense meeting between two improvisors who built beautiful conversations. The playing is crystal clear, very pure, uncomplicated and straight. Everything, every detail is on its place and functional. Although it is abstract, it is very emotional and moving music at the same time. An absolutely marvelous release from Rapid Moment.
- Dolf Mulder -
Touching Extreme
Fasane Hula Punk (don't ask) combines a saxophonist (Gallio, on soprano throughout) with a guitarist (Rupp), players of whom I've been deepening my knowledge quite sparingly, but also regularly – with a declared preference for the former's output, to be honest. Nonetheless, this meeting is really one of a kind - and a complete success - for a series of reasons. The first is the totally unadulterated quality of the music produced in the thirteen (unnamed) tracks. No hint to pre-constructed itemization, or to any sort of genre characterization; yet the lucidity with which these dissertations occur is beyond belief, the artists’ timbral unambiguousness and clearness of intents manifest in every single minute of the CD. Secondarily, there's the extreme democracy shown by both participants, who let their instruments do the talking without sounding despotic, always respecting the reciprocal needs of space while limiting conceptual annihilation intelligently, a bright zaniness defining the more squawking utterances. In a word, a strong sense of integration exists between the spontaneously emitted parts, be them notes or noise; this is something from which the listener benefits enormously. Lastly, the absolute clarity of the instantaneous statements, mainly expressed through sparkling string timbres (Rupp is unquestionably capable of muddying up the whole in a second, though) and show-stopping articulations of reed phraseologies, revealing Gallio's utmost command of an untainted instrumental virtuosity. The cover – among the most absurd artworks seen in a long time – is the ideal container of an entirely satisfying, ear-restorative release.
- Massimo Ricci -
Bad Alchemy
An unvermutetem Ort, nämlich dem Label des Musikers Goh Lee Kwan in Malaysia, findet sich diese unvermutete Paarung. Olaf Rupp ist schließlich ein Gitarrist der heftigen Sorte - wie zuletzt mit Pliakas & Wertmüller zu hören, der Saxophonist Christoph Gallio - wie er oft genug mit seiner Schweizer Formation DAY & TAXI gezeigt hat - ein eher kühler und eleganter Stilist, der vorwiegend Komponiertes spielt. Hier wird frei improvisiert. Gallio bläst ausschließlich auf dem Soprano und dass er mehr mit einem Steve Lacy- als Evan Parker-Sound am Hut hat, ist nur ein grober Richtungshinweis auf seinen eigenen Tonfall. Rupp kommt ihm insofern entgegen, als er seine wahnwitzig rasanten und maximalistischen Repetitionen hier nicht derart verdichtet, wie man ihn solo oder etwa mit Wertmüller kennt. Gallio stöchert, keckert, fiept Vierteltöne und Schrägeres, aleatorisch, insistierend, dann auch nahezu tonlos gehaucht, durchwegs aber kakophon und krumm, wie ihm hier der Schnabel verbogen scheint. So nölend, kläffend, so heiser, so windschief und öfters ganz gottserbärmlich klingt er da, dass doch er es ist, der über den längeren Schatten springt, um sich und denen, die ihn nicht gut genug kennen, die Zähne zu zeigen. Rupp arpeggiert zwar immer wieder in sprudelnden Verwirbelungen, seiner unverwechselbaren Handschrift, aber zupft und harft dann auch ganz reduziert, verhalten, träumerisch, um im nächsten Anlauf wieder ganz struppig und ruppig die Saiten zu malträtieren. So geht dann erstaunlich viel erstaunlich gut zusammen zwischen den beiden.
- Rigobert Dittmann -
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