CD - Stache

The following words were written in the guestbook of an exhibition of my sound sculptures:
"...I rather like the things of the artist and it's still creative; true enough the harmony of his tones is not quite real..."
In this sense, all pieces are played live without having been dubbed.


Sammelsurium konkret

An improvisation with piano and machines.
In the beginning everything goes well, in fixed order the piano-music is accompanied by citherstrings, a "boom-interval", a music-box and sound-tapes; but eventually the events catchup with and overthrow each other: various effect-machines influence the sounds, disturbing the previous fixed order. Erwin Stache, experimenting with levers and buttons with growing excitement, looses himself in the sounds. Like a silver river the sound of recorded voices weaves itself through all this. But they all talk at the same time and nothing can be understood. How outrageous!

Hörügel 2

Although the invention of the Hörügel was hardly noticed by the public at large, it is increasingly favoured by conductors. Because the Hörügel regulates the lighting of the music stand, the conductor can even force the most recalcitrant bassoonist to play less loud or even stop him altogether. The Hörügel 2 works the same way, but has the advantage of letting other instruments collaborate without needing expensive musicians. The instruments - in this case a radio, a haircut-machine, a siren, a motor, a powerdrill, a mixer, a record- player, a film-reel-machine, an electronic whistle and various dinky toy claxons - are all connected to the Hörügel and personally operated by maestro Erwin Stache himself. After the last whistle-signal of the concert, he, well shaven and provided with some drill holes, can rewind his latest mix.

Basset-Duett

Erwin Stache in his own words: "The Basset is an old GDR-instrument, which couldn't make it on the world market. Reason enough to get better acquainted with it." Indeed, When better looked at, it's becoming clear why the Basset is famous only in the GDR. That is because of the silver letters, which glitter on the instrument forming the word "Weltmeister". Small wonder that this extraordinary instrument from the sixties was a thorn in the side of the imperialistic powers. First of all America, which had already suffered loss of face because of Gagarin, hastened to bombard the western market with a sort of hang-over-your- shoulder-keyboard to eliminate the technical back-log. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, and this wretched competition came to an end, Erwin Stache reanimated the Basset. With his left hand at the Basset and his right hand playing the piano, accompanied by drum rhythms, he fully explores this misjudged instrument.

Sound-boxes Cathedralguide

Painstakingly Erwin Stache has brought together a unique collection of sounds of all kinds and origin. He keeps his most beautiful pieces in black cigarboxes. The masterpiece is a complete cathedral guide. Every now and then he exhibits all his boxes to show them to an enthousiastic audience. When he carefully opens a box just a little bit, gentle sounds escape. But when he knocks it open forcefully, the public will be confronted with full-power sounds.The piece on this CD is a live registration of one of his very few sound-box concerts.


Piece for mechanical two-finger hand

While the blind photographer is a well-known phenomenon, the armless pianoplayer has remained practically undiscovered until now. Erwin Stache has digged him up and got in possession of his hand with two fingers. Especially for this prosthesis he wrote a piece for twelve fingers, unique in the world! He also played it using his own hands for the extra fingers.

The geognostic twist, for pulled sound-tapes

Just like the barrel-organplayer, Erwin Stache plays his sound-tapes by hand: he must be excused for the humpity-bumpityness as he never was a barrel-organplayer himself.

Paper bags: 13 in 4

After hiding sounds in cigarboxes, which is a slightly old-fashioned method of packaging, Erwin Stache indulges in a more modern version; the wrapping up of sounds in paper bags. Trueenough, to obtain his goal he had to slaughter some screaming dolls, but from their contents, wrapped up in paper bags, he elicits enchanted sphere sounds.Deborah Herwald, Arnhem, Netherlands