Volker Bertelmann is a composer/pianist (born October 11, 1966 in Ferndorf,… Read Full Bio ↴Volker Bertelmann is a composer/pianist (born October 11, 1966 in Ferndorf, Kreuztal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), who currently resides in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, where he has lived since 1990 after he moved from Cologne. He started releasing music as Hauschka in 2004.
Volker studied classical piano for ten years. His work as Hauschka is based upon a playful exploration of the possibilities of the 'prepared' piano - a disruptive intervention into the preconceived idea of the piano as a pure-toned instrument: by clamping wedges of leather, felt or rubber between the strings; preparing the hammers with aluminium paper or rough films; placing crown corks on the strings, weaving guitar strings around the piano's guts, or pasting them down with gaffa tape - his resulting tracks are composed both originally and charmingly.
Rather than striving for any purist academic perfection, Volker’s playing seems as much informed by modern electronica or Indonesian gamelan as it is by any classical cannon. With the aid of his interventions, the piano becomes as much a machine for generating rhythms as it does for melody. Now and again Hauschka utilises additional, non-piano sounds such as synthesizer, drum machine, electric bass, or other acoustic instruments like vibraphone, strings or brass. His pieces may be seen as small rhythmic sound-vignettes or just quiet ballads which have their roots in east-asian harmonies, the minimalism of Reich, Glass, Nyman, etc., and also in Satie or Ravel.
The foundations of Hauschka's piano music can equally be traced back to 20th Century composers like Henry Cowell, who picked the strings of his piano as if it were a zither. Cowell in turn influenced John Cage, who redefined the rules of piano sounds and playing with his own experiments. Inserting bolts, screws, and numerous other objects in between and on top of the strings, Cage created new sounds and percussive elements to the act of playing, redefining possibilities for the instrument. The rustling, drumming, harmonic soundings of these various objects has consequently inspired a whole bunch of composers, amongst them Arvo Pärt, Steffen Schleiermacher, Frangis Ali-Sade, Edison Denissow or Philip Corner and other artists from radical '60s grouping, Fluxus. But it would be too easy to locate the playful in the serious or academic realms. What Fluxus had constantly been trying to undermine, others have been succeeding in with a whole different kind of verve: in the '50s Fritz Schulz-Reichel became a celebrity under the name of "Schräger Otto", his modified Ragtime sounds making him a huge success in the USA. Since then modified piano-hammers or strings have appeared as an effect in various pop music tracks. In the early '80s US hipsters like The Waitresses and the England's The Flying Lizards were experimenting with metallic, distorted piano sounds, not denying their avant-garde references.
Before his involvement with FatCat, Hauschka released two albums on the Karaoke Kalk label - 'Substantial' (2004) and 'The Prepared Piano' (2005); and a 7", 'What A Day' (2005) on the Ear Sugar label. Besides working as Hauschka, Volker is a member of Music A.M., a collaboration with Stefan Schneider (To Rococco Rot) and Luke Sutherland (Long Fin Killie); and of the electronic / club tracks duo Tonetraeger, his project with Torsten Mauss.
Hauschka's first release for FatCat's 130701 imprint, the beautiful 'Room To Expand' was released in February 2007. That year also saw him undertake his first live shows in the UK and USA (where he supported múm on a number of shows to great acclaim).
In September 2008, his follow up record, ‘Ferndorf’ was released. Where the previous album comprised mostly solo recordings of Hauschka’s ‘prepared’ piano (with a few electronic and instrumental overdubs), ‘Ferndorf’ is a far more expansive and fully-realised album, with many of the tracks also featuring a string duo, enabling an increased solidity.
His new EP, ‘Snowflakes and Carwrecks’, was released in January 2009 and he is currently working on new material for an album set to be released in 2010.
from http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/artistInfo.php?id=112
Volker studied classical piano for ten years. His work as Hauschka is based upon a playful exploration of the possibilities of the 'prepared' piano - a disruptive intervention into the preconceived idea of the piano as a pure-toned instrument: by clamping wedges of leather, felt or rubber between the strings; preparing the hammers with aluminium paper or rough films; placing crown corks on the strings, weaving guitar strings around the piano's guts, or pasting them down with gaffa tape - his resulting tracks are composed both originally and charmingly.
Rather than striving for any purist academic perfection, Volker’s playing seems as much informed by modern electronica or Indonesian gamelan as it is by any classical cannon. With the aid of his interventions, the piano becomes as much a machine for generating rhythms as it does for melody. Now and again Hauschka utilises additional, non-piano sounds such as synthesizer, drum machine, electric bass, or other acoustic instruments like vibraphone, strings or brass. His pieces may be seen as small rhythmic sound-vignettes or just quiet ballads which have their roots in east-asian harmonies, the minimalism of Reich, Glass, Nyman, etc., and also in Satie or Ravel.
The foundations of Hauschka's piano music can equally be traced back to 20th Century composers like Henry Cowell, who picked the strings of his piano as if it were a zither. Cowell in turn influenced John Cage, who redefined the rules of piano sounds and playing with his own experiments. Inserting bolts, screws, and numerous other objects in between and on top of the strings, Cage created new sounds and percussive elements to the act of playing, redefining possibilities for the instrument. The rustling, drumming, harmonic soundings of these various objects has consequently inspired a whole bunch of composers, amongst them Arvo Pärt, Steffen Schleiermacher, Frangis Ali-Sade, Edison Denissow or Philip Corner and other artists from radical '60s grouping, Fluxus. But it would be too easy to locate the playful in the serious or academic realms. What Fluxus had constantly been trying to undermine, others have been succeeding in with a whole different kind of verve: in the '50s Fritz Schulz-Reichel became a celebrity under the name of "Schräger Otto", his modified Ragtime sounds making him a huge success in the USA. Since then modified piano-hammers or strings have appeared as an effect in various pop music tracks. In the early '80s US hipsters like The Waitresses and the England's The Flying Lizards were experimenting with metallic, distorted piano sounds, not denying their avant-garde references.
Before his involvement with FatCat, Hauschka released two albums on the Karaoke Kalk label - 'Substantial' (2004) and 'The Prepared Piano' (2005); and a 7", 'What A Day' (2005) on the Ear Sugar label. Besides working as Hauschka, Volker is a member of Music A.M., a collaboration with Stefan Schneider (To Rococco Rot) and Luke Sutherland (Long Fin Killie); and of the electronic / club tracks duo Tonetraeger, his project with Torsten Mauss.
Hauschka's first release for FatCat's 130701 imprint, the beautiful 'Room To Expand' was released in February 2007. That year also saw him undertake his first live shows in the UK and USA (where he supported múm on a number of shows to great acclaim).
In September 2008, his follow up record, ‘Ferndorf’ was released. Where the previous album comprised mostly solo recordings of Hauschka’s ‘prepared’ piano (with a few electronic and instrumental overdubs), ‘Ferndorf’ is a far more expansive and fully-realised album, with many of the tracks also featuring a string duo, enabling an increased solidity.
His new EP, ‘Snowflakes and Carwrecks’, was released in January 2009 and he is currently working on new material for an album set to be released in 2010.
from http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/artistInfo.php?id=112
Morgenrot
Hauschka Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Morgenrot' by these artists:
Ewigheim Der Tag erwacht, die letzten Nebel schwinden Ein erster So…
Haze Meine City is' am Arsch, mein Kind kann nicht hier…
Herbert Grönemeyer Ich bau' Dir ein Bett aus Rosen, die Wände aus Glanzpapier, …
Letzte Instanz Wie schön wohl unser Leben war, Bis vom Baum Erkenntnis fie…
Matthias Reim Auf der Suche nach dem 7. Himmel Kann man leicht auch…
Megaherz Nur noch ein St? ck, ein kleines St? ck Die Br?…
MOTUZ Wenn Straßenlaternen ausgehen funkeln in den Augen gerade so…
Realtalk Records Immer wenn es dunkel wird, dann kommen wieder Sorgen hoch Ab…
Untergangskommando Sie ziehen durch die Straßen mit fahlen Gesicht. Sie ziehen…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Hauschka:
Fragile 伊藤由奈 - Fragile ★ VAN制作 Get away 嘘でしょう no way You are my…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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francesco siro
real art work!!! i love this technique i love this style.thanks :)
RubyTuesday182
the best music video i've ever seen. i love it so much! it treats me to be creative =)
Elvenheim
Five stars for both Hauschka and Jeff, specially for Jeff considering that it was his first animation video!
Milica Cvitkovac
Fantastic music. Excellent relationship between music and visual art... ... strong emotional impression :))
yaneevt
so simple, so wise, beautiful, strong and gentle. in small words, breathtaking vid!
Rational Vagabund
Stunning music. Amazing video. A rare example of subtle and beautiful use of computer graphics.
Narrenkopp
Wunderschön. und das aus unserem Land. Ich danke dir sehr!
Rational Vagabund
Still very cool and unexpected. Are you familiar with Jeff Desom's work particularly? (I am not). Or have you come across a source that talks about the making of Morgenrot? If so, would you mind sharing? I'm sure it would be a great read or watch.
billykidy
UNBELIEVABLE!!!AMAZING!!!!!!!!
Anna Barros
belissimo na sua simplicidade