Fact #139731

You may recall me enthusing about enigmatic avant-garde German pianist-composer Hauschka's recent collaboration with the violinist Hilary Hahn, and here he is again. This time, the project is a series of re-mixes of his 2011 prepared piano album Salon Des Amateurs, for which he attached everyday objects including gaffa tape, tinfoil, bottle tops, ping-pong balls and vibrators across the piano's strings to add unpredictable and intriguing sonic effects to his compositions. If anything, the re-mixers (including Michael Mayer, Steve Bicknell and Vainqueur) have improved on Hauschka's originals, making the work more coherent and hauntingly hypnotic.
(Johnny Black - review first appeared in HiFi News)