Operating since the mid-nineties under a variety of monikers and collaborations, German musician and label owner Bernd Friedmann has built up a totally unique catalogue. He has taken his ethic and vision into his label, Nonplace, which he founded ten years ago. To celebrate this first decade, Friedmann collected a bunch of previously unheard versions and mixes of tracks that have appeared on various albums over the years. We took the opportunity of this landmark anniversary to speak to the man about the last ten years of releases and talk about his many projects, including his much celebrated collaboration with form Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit. Continue Reading »

VARIOUS ARTISTS
10th Anniversary Edition
NON28
Nonplace Records 2010
15 Tracks. 60min00secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD

Ten years is a milestone for any label, especially in today’s volatile music market, and it is just the one reached by Bernd ‘Burnt Friedman’ Friedmann’s excellent Nonplace. While the label has been an outlet for his own projects, either solo or collaborative, it has also seen contributions from a handful of bands and artists, from Beige or Freeform to Roots 70 and The Embassadors more recently. More than a label with a perfectly hermetic roster, Nonplace is a bubbling cauldron where artists are often spotted on works other than their own and cross pollination is actively encouraged. Friedmann of course has been involved in one way or another on most records released on the label, but it is also the case of multi-instrumentist Hayden Chisholm, who, from his early collaboration with Friedmann as part of the Nu Dub Players, went on to form both Root 70 and The Embassadors, or guitarist Joseph Suchy, who beside a number of extra-Nonplace activities, is often seen alongside Friedmann on his solo projects. Continue Reading »

THE EMBASSADORS
Coptic Dub
NON27
Nonplace Records 2009
08 Tracks. 41mins37secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD Amazon US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD

New Zealander saxophonist and multi-instrumentist Hayden Chisholm leads The Embassadors, an oddly named jazz formation which counts in its ranks drummer Jochen Rueckert and bassist Matt Penman. A long term collaborator of Burnt Friedman – he is, amongst other things, a member of the Nu Dub Players, Chisholm has released a number of records under his own name or as part of Root 70 or Zeitkratzer. His Embassadors materialised for the first time a couple of years ago with an album entitled Healing The Music, which featured a wide international formation, including Kenyan vocalist Michel Ongaru. This time round, Chisholm and his Embassadors have recorded an entirely instrumental record which gives Hayden a much more imposing presence.   Continue Reading »

BURNT FRIEDMAN
Con Ritmo
NON26
Nonplace Records 2000/2009
12 Tracks. 59mins08secs

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Stream: Spotify

When he released Con Ritmo, almost ten years ago, German musician and producer Bernd ‘Burnt’ Friedman had already been publishing music, under a variety of pseudonyms, and with the Nu Dub Players or Flanger, a project he co-steered with Atom™, since the mid-nineties, appearing on labels such as ~Scape or Ash International. This album was only the third release, and the first album, from his then recently set up Nonplace Records imprint.

Playing keyboards and vibraphone, Friedman surrounded himself with the tongue-in-cheek Disposable Rhythm Section, featuring guitarist Josef Suchy and Bernie The Bolt, who brought Latin flavours to the drums and percussions. On Das Wesen Aus Der Milchstrasse, the trio were joined by long-time friend and collaborator Atom Heart on Moog. The tracks collected on this record were culled from live recordings made during a two-week period.

Now presented in fully remastered glory and featuring four additional tracks, Con Ritmo has lost none of its charms and quirks. Continue Reading »

FRIEDMAN & LIEBEZEIT
Secret Rhythms 3
25742/25751
Nonplace Records 2008
07 Tracks. 52mins40secs

Long before Kieran Hebden teamed up with legendary percussionist Steve Reid, German electronic musician Bernd ‘Burnt’ Friedman joined forces with another celebrated drummer in the person of Can member Jaki Liebezeit. Their first shared offering came in the shape of Secret Rhythms (2002), combined Friedman’s characteristic dub and futuristic electro jazz and Liebezeit’s feel for multi-faceted rhythmic formations to create a collection of subtle impressionist tracks caught somewhere between dusk and dark. Four years on, they were at it again. Secret Rhythms 2 continued to outline a fascinating world all in contrasts and undertones.

Third in the series, this latest Secret Rhythms collection redefines once more the spectrum in which the pair evolve. Continue Reading »