Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Holon

The second ECM album by Swiss composer-pianist Nik B�rtsch and his band Ronin reaps the benefits of the two years of roadwork undertaken since the recording of �Stoa�. �We�ve simply played a lot more,� B�rtsch emphasises: �The development of the band as an organism is a very important force for the music. It is through playing that the pieces I write grow and bloom.� The distinguishing characteristics of the music are consistent: the modular constructions, the polymetric pulses, the complex interlocking patterns and repetitive motifs. B�rtsch speaks of the band�s way of working as a �spiral continuum� rather than the newness-at-all-costs priorities of the Western avant-garde. Yet it is clear enough that a conceptual leap has been made in Ronin�s music, for the band�s sound is simultaneously looser and indissoluble, without any relinquishing of the grip upon the groove.