SOL
The vibraphonist and composer, Pascal Schumacher has made a name for himself in a variety of collaborative endeavours. From quartets to symphonic orchestras, jazz tunes to classical chamber music, he has built a unique relationship with his instrument and has been relentless in assuring his position as a versatile and adventurous musician. Now he launches his first solo album, SOL via Neue Meister label. SOL captures Pascal’s newfound passion for solitude in all its magnetism. Yet, it remains true to a relationship’s main characteristic; intimacy.
First imagine empty space. Darkness, then a spark, a central light. A lone figure stands revealed by in a strange ambience of purple and blue and white. In front of him, the metallic edifice of a vibraphone. The figure bows, he gazes forward. When he strikes the bars with two blue-tipped mallets in each hand, the notes chime and ring out through the darkness like signals through the cosmos. Shimmering, the volume of the notes pulsates, dilating and swelling in darkness, twinkling and dissolving.
A revery is born of the otherworldly quality of the solo vibraphone, pulsating in space, with Pascal Schumacher caught in a hollow square of light, a lonesome figure behind a bank of instruments. There is in intimacy illuminated within the profound darkness circling around the central tableau puts you into a unique, personal one-to-one interaction. This isn’t just solo music because it is performed by one person, it is solo because it insists on a direct one-to-one intimacy with the listener. Other forms of music—terrace anthems, party hip-hop, funeral dirges—are experienced as a shared group activity, but this is intimate music that directs the listener to listen personally and intently.
There is a paradox in ‘solo listening’ and ‘solo playing’ as if there were just one of you—the paradox leads you to question what it means to be alone with music, or even what it means to be ‘alone together’ with another person, whether happily or in misery. Noone is ever really alone, yet we are all essentially solo artists. Significantly, solo is always solo plus something or someone else. Because, thankfully, we are never completely alone.
Booking Agents
Bookings Worldwide (Except for Territories Below)
Agentur Wolkenstein
Anastasia Wolkenstein
Phone: +49 (0)160 1531978
Email: mail@agentur-wolkenstein.de
agentur-wolkenstein.de
Bookings for Belgium & Netherlands
Red Cat Artists
Kati Van de Velde
Phone: +32 9 235 16 56
Email: kati.vandevelde@redcatartists.com
redcatartists.com
PR
Le Tigre Noir
Juste Survilaité
Phone: +49 (0) 30 285 019 27
Email: juste@letigrenoir.com
letigrenoir.com
Managament & Bookings Worldwide
fast forward classical
Justus Wille
Phone: +49 157 73735885
Email: justus.wille@ffwd-classical.de
ffwd-classical.de
Production Company
Monday Night Productions
Raphael Junker
Phone: +352 621 285 044
Email: rjunker@mondaynightproductions.com
mondaynightproductions.com
Upcoming Concerts
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Featured Video(s)
References
Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg (D)
Philhamonie, Luxembourg (L)
MUDAM, Luxembourg (L)
Jazzkaar, Tallinn (EE)
Like A Jazz Machine, Dudelange (L)
Jazz & the City, Salzburg (A)
Sunnyside, Reims (F)
XJAZZ, Berlin (D)
Orania, Berlin (D)
Nordsternturm, Gelsenkirchen (D)
Hemmersdorf Pop - Les Nuits, Hemmersdorf (D)
Resonanzen Festival Saarbrücken (D)
AMOK Festival Brugge (B)
Beethoven Frühling, Vienna (AT)
Downloads
Press
THE JAZZMAN (UK) :
(...) Intimate, immersive, frequently beautiful, and occasionally disturbing “Sol” represents an impressive statement from Schumacher that brings together various aspects of his work.. (July 2nd 2020, Ian Mann)
HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT (D) :
(...) Der Luxemburger Vibraphonist war eine echte Entdeckung, seine verträumten, sphärischen Klangflächen waren natürlich niemals luxemburgische Folklore, aber, umso besser, ein schöner supranationaler Rahmen für eine Grenzen überwindende Angelegenheit. (September 24th 2020, Thomas André)
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK (D) :
Der Luxemburger Vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher gehört zu den vielseitigsten Musikern seiner Generation. (...) „SOL“ ist eine faszinierende und intime Klangreise.. (June 22nd 2020, Manuela Krause)
PIPD - POP UND KULTUR (D) :
Pascal Schumacher hat mehrere Abschlusszeugnisse und etliche Preise im Schrank stehen, aber sein Sound ist minimalistisch, das Gegenteil von Angeberei, stets zwischen Pop, Klassik und Jazz. Der Vibraphonist hat im Duo, Trio und Quartett gespielt, aber erst mit dem neuen Solo-Album "Sol" hat er mich vollends überzeugt. "Tubular Bells" ist tatsächlich der auf Röhrenglocken gespielte Siebziger-Song, hat hier jedoch nichts vom Progressive-Bombast eines Mike Oldfield. Das hier ist Ambient fürs Abtauchen mit Kopfhörer, metallisch Einlullendes, eingespielt vor allem mit Vibraphon und Glockenspiel... (June 30th 2020, Jan Paersch)
CITIZEN JAZZ (F) :
(...) Tout y est retenu, comme suspendu, rien d’injurieux, rien de clinquant. Des mélodies légères et liquides. Des arrangements limpides et voluptueux. On plane en haute altitude. Et pas besoin ici des effets de l’alcool ou d’autre substance psychotrope. La musique se suffit à elle-même. On savoure et on est bien. (September 6th 2020, Julien Aunos)
JAZZNEWS (F) :
(...) De mélodies intimes en profondeurs spectrales, cette oeuvre sonne commeune invitation à respecter la fragilité de la vie en son essence. Sublime. (Juillet-Août 2020, Alice Leclercq)
DELANO (L) :
(...) Nevertheless, “Sol” is a beautifully calming record that over 15 compelling tracks provided comfort during the first confusing week of lockdown. Now, in more relaxed times, it is aural balm on a sunny afternoon, as exemplified by the title track. (May 30th 2020, Duncan Roberts)
PIZZICATO (L) :
(...) *It is a consistently calm programme, bright like the sun from which it took its name, delicately intoxicating, as if drifting away in nature on a summer day. - Sol evokes scenes of great beauty, balancing the inspiring with the melancholic or poetic to create a perfect atmosphere, sometimes jazzy, sometimes minimalist or just ‘floating’. Sol is a quiet, contemplative recording, certainly with a calming effect and sometimes transcendental. (June 5th 2020, Norbert Tischer)
LE SOIR (B) :
(...) il nous mène avec amabilité dans un voyage cosmique au sein des étoiles, où leur scintillement fait oublier le noir de l’espace. (September 6th 2020, Jean-Claude Vantroyen)
DANSENDEBEREN (B) :
(...) Hij wekt er, in samenspraak met producer Joachim Olaya, een verhaal van contrasten mee tot leven. Licht en donker bijvoorbeeld. Evengoed gaat het om de relatie tussen individu en klimaat (o.a. via titeltrack “Sol”). Toch is het belangrijkste dat hij met het Sol album ervaringen uit zijn hele carrière bundelt, van klassiek (o.a. Bach) over jazz (het nog steeds fantastische Left Tokyo Right album) of over de recentere experimenten met elektronica en geluidsmanipulatie (o.a. het Drops And Points project). Waarbij Schumacher met het Sol project voluit gaat voor een zeer scherpe focus, een sterk overkoepelend verhaal evenals voor een sterk uitgepuurder geluid. . (June 16th 2020, Philippe De Cleen)