Martin Küchen: saxophones
Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga: zither

After meeting for the first time in London, Martin Küchen and Dimitra Lazaridou-Chatzigoga stayed in touch through a photography book on orphan great apes, one of which had featured on a solo release by Martin. On their second meeting, they decided to meet and play at Dimitra’s house, where Martin brought his alto saxophone and Dimitra laid down her zither and objects. ‘Sommer’ was what they had in mind, even though it was a rainy and cold afternoon. After this first playing, it was clear they wanted to play again. When Dimitra knew she would travel to Sweden in autumn of 2013, they made plans for a concert and a recording. They met in Malmö, where Dimitra was baffled when she saw Martin arrive with all of his saxophones and Martin was baffled when Dimitra asked for amplification. What had been some quiet, intimate music at home in London was about to become loud and expansive sound at the art gallery in Malmö. With these two experiences, they went the following morning to a recording studio in Lund. Parts of this recording make up their upcoming duo release in Cathnor recordings, which could also be described as below. Join the menagerie.

‘Bauchredner und Rufer im Moor’ is a painting by the German-Swiss painter Paul Klee, where “imaginary beasts float within a transparent ventriloquist who appears to be all belly—except, of course, for a pair of legs, tiny arms, and a sort of head without a mouth. The little creatures inside the ventriloquist might symbolize the odd noises and voices that seem to emanate from him […]. As if attracted by the animal sounds above him, a stray fish is about to enter a net dangling from the lower part of the ventriloquist’s anatomy—perhaps to join the menagerie within.”