Label : imd-zabmusic
Digital release date : 03/04/2020
Distribution : iMusician for imd-zabmusic
Genre : ambient - contemporary classical - alternative
Number of tracks : 17 | Duration : 44:00
Musician : Thierry Zaboitzeff, Cellos, pianos, bass, programming, samplers
Composition : Thierry Zaboitzeff
Artwork : imd-zabmusic
℗ 2020 Thierry Zaboitzeff
2020 Editta Braun & Thierry Zaboitzeff
NEBENSONNEN REMAKE
New performance, new recording, new edition @ imd-zabmusic
Available only on all the usual streaming and download platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon... And on Bandcamp
NEBENSONNEN is the original soundtrack of a choreographic creation by Editta Braun published on CD in 2000 on the label Atonal (Berlin). It was recorded and arranged 20 years later under the title "NEBENSONNEN - remake“.
„Nebensonnen" are halos that make a second, weaker sun appear in the sky next to the sun. Broken reflection, symbol of a close, formative, very special relationship - the phenomenon inspired the choreographer Editta Braun to a touching dance evening about mother-daughter relationships. Thierry Zaboitzeff composed a particularly sensitive album, transparent and clear, both gentle and powerful, in which he relies primarily on piano, sparsely accentuated by strings and soft electronics.
Uni Kulturni Magazin (CZ) - Rythmes Croisés (F) - Exposé (USA) - Revue & Corrigée (F)
Thierry Zaboitzeff: Nebensonnen (remake)
After twenty years as an integral member of Art Zoyd, original composer and multi-instrumentalist Thierry Zaboitzeff split from his former band in the late 1990s and forged a new path as a solo artist. A year ago, he began releasing all his solo recordings on his bandcamp platform, including rarities and concert one-offs. Not just pure albums of his name, but also soundtracks for theatre and ballet projects. In some places he recorded all the instruments himself, in others he used a plethora of instrumentalists. It should be noted that neither affair is at all shallow, neither repetitive in musical themes or moods, nor in the use of instruments. Each time it surprises. The consumption of his music requires a completely barrier-free approach. Each time it is different and different. But he always sticks to harmony, almost no atonal "ultramodern" flourishes. In the example of the outrageously excellent Missa Furiosa from 2004.
The music for the Salzburg Dance Company ballet by choreographer Editta Braun was released on Atonal Records in 2000 and is the only completely newly recorded older work. Twenty years on, Zaboitzeff has reworked it, taking much out of the original hour-long suite, and with the addition of instruments, even dramatically separating the previously interlocking pieces into individual segments, seventeen ultimate pieces in entirely new arrangements. And he tied it back together again. The acoustic piano takes the lead, it is the most effective element, which as the fundamental factor of the new version changes the character of the whole earlier work, then the unobtrusive chamber symphonic orchestration of (not only) strings, almost without synthesizers. While the original ballet score was undeniably excellent, Zaboitzeff clearly knew why to embark on a remake from scratch. Nebensonnen (the remake) is now an exceptional, complex album. Compared to the original recording, the songs are more carefully arranged, more lucid, and thanks to the instrumental clarity, more dramatically suspenseful; you find yourself inside the action, and when the pause comes, curiosity compels you to keep listening to see what the next story will bring. You create it yourself.
12/2020 Petr Procházka
Nebensonnen remake
Another “Parhélie” for Thierry ZABOITZEFF
Since the lockdown period is a good time to dig through archives, composer and multi-instrumentalist Thierry ZABOITZEFF (ARIA PRIMITIVA, formerly of ART ZOYD) took the opportunity to finish the “remake” of one of his older albums, the wintry *Nebensonnen* (Parhelion, or “double sun”), originally released exactly twenty years ago (already?!)—in the year 2000—on Atonal Records (read our review).
Displeased with certain technical aspects of that earlier production, “Dr. ZAB” set out to remedy them and created a new version. He says on the subject: “Although more extensive studio resources were utilized for this remake, everything is more acoustic, simpler, and more direct… gone are the synth pads and the string and piano loops. Everything was re-recorded in this atmosphere of solitude and confinement, even the piece ‘Divertissement,’ originally created within and for ART ZOYD.”
Since the Covid-19 pandemic currently prevents the production of physical media (CDs, LPs), this Nebensonnen (remake) is being released today exclusively in digital format on all streaming and download platforms, as well as on Thierry ZABOITZEFF’s Bandcamp page (where you can also find previously unreleased archives): https://thierryzaboitzeff.bandcamp.com/
Capable of delving into the mysteries of desolation and withdrawal, this intimate and contemplative album should help you reconnect with a love of staying home that you may not have even known you had. It’s the perfect album to listen to while in lockdown! With this new version of Nebensonnen,
one thing is certain: winter is coming.
Nebensonnen remake - Thierry Zaboitzeff
In the late 90s, after being an integral member of Art Zoyd for over twenty years (as well as releasing a couple solo albums on the side), Zaboitzeff began to distance himself from his former band, post Haxan, with a series of comissioned solo recordings released on the Atonal records label, the first of these being Heartbeat in 1997, followed by India and Alice, each approximately one year apart, then in 2000 he released the original version of Nebensonnen, which was the commisioned music for a dance piece by the Editta Braun Dance Company. Almost an hour in length, it was composed and performed, with the exception of one track where his former band members join him, entirely by Zaboitzeff using the tools he had available at the time: cello, bass, electric keyboards, and synths – nineteen inventive tracks of mostly soft and subtle compositions, precisely what was required by the dance troupe. But through all the years, Zaboitzeff was never entirely happy with the results, and beginning last year he pulled the trigger on the project of remaking it from scratch, the same compositions but entirely new arrangements – acoustic piano, real orchestration and almost no synths. Listening to the Nebensonnen (Remake), the compositions are all familiar but the way the pieces are arranged is far more meticulous and precise, building a whole new levels of warmth and character that weren’t entirely there on the original recording. The new arrangements entail a full compliment of strings, but the acoustic piano is probably the most effective agent of change. The same standout tracks that made the original so special, like “Alles in Ordnung,” “Rondo,” “Zorn,” “Seehaus,” and many others are even more beautiful here, now brought up to a whole new level that makes the originals pale in comparison. A back-to-back listen confirms the power of the newer version. As of this writing, Nebensonnen (Remake) is only available as a download, but that certainly could change in the future.
Nebensonnen remake
Download and Streaming Platforms – 2020
Originally released on the Atonal label in 2000, this seventh album by the former Art Zoyd member—like certain other recordings released in the late 1990s that were created for Editta Braun’s choreographies (Heartbeat, Miniaturen, India, Alice), this *Nebensonnen* has just been given not a reissue but a reinterpretation, featuring new arrangements—a move the artist felt was more appropriate. Currently available only in digital format. Gone, then, from this “entertainment,” are the contributions of guest artists—former collaborators within Art Zoyd: everything is now handled by Thierry Zaboitzeff, who, outside the context of the original choreography, has slightly altered the track order by including only a single rendition of the short piece “Nebensonnen.” This reinterpretation gives the album a stronger sense of coherence by emphasizing the string-based sounds. It’s a more polished work.
Nebensonnen Original CD
Atonal Records ACD 3036 : 2000 / Booster 2009
Thierry Zaboitzeff: Composition, bass, cello, voice, keyboards, electronics.
Track 16 (Divertissement remix) Patricia Dallio: Piano, Gérard Hourbette: Viola, Jean Pierre Soarez: Trumpet
Gilles Renard : Saxophone, Alain Eckert : Guitar.
Babyblaue Seiten (D) - Impro Jazz (F) - Traverses (F)
Nebensonnen
“Nebensonnen” is the seventh solo album by Thierry Zaboitzeff, who recorded this album entirely on his own. The album bears the subtitle “Works for pianos, strings, and soft electronics,” which introduces the sound sources heard on the album but also hints that the music here is rather subdued.
The piano is the dominant instrument on “Nebensonnen.” Essentially, this is a collection of piano pieces accompanied rather sparingly by string and electronic sounds. One or two piano parts flow from solemn to brisk, drawing inspiration from neoclassical models such as Bartók, Stravinsky, or Shostakovich, as well as from the piano improvisations of Keith Jarrett. Zaboitzeff rarely picks up the cello to accompany himself. Instead, sampled string sounds and solemn, somber electronic sounds prevail as a layered accompaniment, reminiscent of Art Zoyd’s electronic phase (beginning with “Nosferatu”). This music is calm, quite sparse, and simple, perfectly reflecting the bleak cover art of this album… a very fitting soundtrack for a rainy autumn or late winter afternoon.
Track 16—“Divertissement”—is a remix of the track of the same name from “Musique pour l’Odyssee” (which, however, hardly differs from the original) and the only moment on this album where a certain richness of sound emerges. The music is very melancholic, almost cold (though there are also some cheerful moments, in “Räuber und Gendarm,” for example), yet it also exudes a very simple, sublime beauty.
“Nebensonnen” feels like a distillation of Zaboitzeff’s music, like a simplified yet sharply defined sketch of the musical ideas of this Frenchman living in Vienna. The album is therefore a lovely record for life’s quieter moments (by which I also mean to suggest that some people might find this music boring)!
Nebensonnen
After the chaos of hell, dreamlike mists. Significantly more intimate,
this suite revolves around short, recurring pieces played on the piano.
The organic and the instinctual have given way to dreams, to cottony atmospheres, somewhere between crystal and velvet.
I have only one regret: the heavy reliance on synthesizers to interpret certain string parts.
The moments when the piano’s wandering is interspersed with the cello’s melody
(Zorn in particular) are so much more intense that one would have wished they extended to the passages mentioned earlier: computer-generated synths will never replace the horsehair of a bow.
That said, this is a world away from the new music plagued by endless synth pads: here, the piano remains the central focus, the motifs are intoxicating, and while certain atmospheres are reminiscent of René Aubry, the music bears the hallmarks of Satie and Debussy above all, thanks to the interplay of the notes. Some pieces are magical.
Nebensonnen
After four solo albums in barely three years, some may have feared that the creative powers of the former “leader” of ART ZOYD were waning and thought they had seen everything his solo work had to offer. But then, to everyone’s surprise, Thierry ZABOITZEFF reveals another facet of his instrumental landscape that stands in stark contrast to his previous album, *Miniaturen*, released just a few months earlier.
Written for choreographer Editta BRAUN’s new show, *Nebensonnen* (“Parhelia”), which evokes the memory of mothers, this new album by ZABOITZEFF could have been presented as a collection of themes for solo piano were it not for the fact that certain pieces are enhanced by strings (cello, violins) and/or keyboard layers—whether ethereal or orchestral. Gone are the ghoul-like voices, guitars, sound effects, and mechanical rhythms! Exorcised are the visions of vampires, witches, and the damned. Soothed are the inner cataclysms that used to induce cold sweats.
Against all expectations, Thierry ZABOITZEFF invites us to wander through these snow-mist-drenched lands where the flora is petrified and the horizon is an icy mirage. In this setting—which inspires desolation and invites introspection—the “Zoydian” martial spirit has not, however, entirely disappeared (Räuber und Gendarrm, Härte), and it is only natural that a remixed version of “Divertissement”—a piece composed for the album *Génération sans futur*—fits seamlessly into this work, which is imbued with moving solemnity, cathartic fantasy, and wounded contemplation (listen to “Im Berg,” among others). An album for winter…
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