Bass Works: As I Venture Into

by Martina Berther

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Martina's excellent Bass Works LP + 1 cap honouring the track 'Mini Gong'.

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1.	6Chords 02:42 video	info	buy track
2.	Alienruf I 03:20		buy track
3.	Cymbal 01:59 video	info	buy track
4.	Bow 02:08		buy track
5.	Arrow 02:31		buy track
6.	Wool 01:17		buy track
7.	Obertone 01:43		buy track
8.	Rhythm Sponge 03:11		buy track
9.	Sprinkler 02:25		buy track
10.	Silverneck 02:51		buy track
11.	Pinsel 01:32		buy track
12.	Mini Gong 01:10		buy track

about

Swiss bass player & composer Martina Berther (Ester Poly / AUL / Sophie Hunger / Hallow Ground) announces debut solo album ‘Bass Works: As I Venture Into’.

Lush drones, elegiac soundscapes & alien music between improvisation & compositional rigour - RIYL Éliane Radigue, Mica Levi, Olivier Messiaen.

An experimental collection of unique one-take compositions opening up strange, beautiful new worlds of solitude & wonder...

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𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 is the debut solo album by bassist Martina Berther. The Zurich-based artist has been exploring and expanding upon the sonic potentials of her instrument in her live practice for years. The twelve pieces draw on her improvisational approach, but were continuously refined as fully fleshed-out compositions that Berther recorded in one take, with no edits made or overdubs added afterwards. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 hence serves as a lively snapshot of an on-going explorative process, collecting these pieces in one place to give them a space in which to unfold.

Starting with the lush drones of the opener '6Chords' to the crunchy rhythmic noise of 'Wool' and the almost elegiac closing track 'Mini Gong', the album sees Berther indeed venture into the untapped potentials of her instrument as well as into unknown territory herself: She travels through the strange limbo between the concrete and the abstract, the liveness of improvisation and compositional rigour, open-ended experimentation and a unique artistic vision.

Berther is at home in many different musical words. Trained in jazz, she is a member of genre-bending bands such as Ester Poly and AUL, has worked as a live musician for Sophie Hunger and recently collaborated with Philipp Schlotter. Since 2017, she has been playing fully improvised live solo sets using pedals, preparations, and additional objects as well as unconventional playing techniques. "During rehearsals for the concerts and on stage, I discovered a plethora of new sounds", explains Berther.

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 can be understood as an archive of this as much as it chronicles the artist’s development as an improviser and composer. Berther refers to the individual pieces as brief stories, with the track titles capturing the mood of the respective pieces or referring to the tools she used to construct sonic narratives out of previous improvisations. Having recorded roughly 90 minutes of material, she narrowed down the selection to twelve pieces that interlock to form a cohesive story arc.

The main narrative of 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 is that of a bassist engaging with her instrument in novel ways while also redefining herself as a musician. "The bass is usually used in bands to lay a foundation and provide structure," explains Berther. "Over the past few years, I was surprised to discover how I sound when I free myself from conventions and compromises."

The preliminary result of this (self-)discovery process is an album that both invites its listeners to venture into the unthought-of possibilities of the bass while also rewarding attentive deep listening with sonic richness and complexity. As a snapshot of Berther’s practice, it already hints at further progress.

Video for 'Cymbal': youtu.be/UO1jgwAUX0E

credits

released April 5, 2024

Played by Martina Berther with a Fender Jazzbass, preparations and a few EFX
One takes, no edits, no overdubs
Recorded by Martina Berther at Mediacampus Zürich in 2020
Mixed by Roland Wäspe (except Cymbal, Rhythm Sponge and Silverneck,
mixed by Martina Berther)
Tape processing by Philipp Schaufelberger
Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi
Cover photo by Martina Berther
Graphic Design by Bureau Mia

Special THANKS to:
Aio Frei, Andrea Peterhans, Antoine Chessex, Anuk Schmelcher, Catia Lanfranchi, Flo Götte, Franziska Staubli, Gina Somaini, Kae Steiger, Kaleo La Belle, Lisa Christ, Lukas Müller, Philipp Schlotter, Richard Greenan, Simone Lappert, Tobias Meier, Popkredit Zürich and Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich for making this record possible!

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about

Martina Berther Zürich, Switzerland

Martina Berther is a Swiss bass player and composer based in Zurich. Her sound spectrum ranges from pop to experimental music. She tours internationally both solo and with her bands Ester Poly and AUL and as a sidewoman with musicians like Sophie Hunger. She also writes music for films, theatre and installations and works as a curator. She has received numerous awards for her work.
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discography

Bass Works: As I Venture Into

Apr 2024
Matt

Sep 2023
WET

Aug 2021
UTO

Oct 2017
Pique Dame

Oct 2017
Die Vierte Zehe

Dec 2012

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