Lorenz Raab :XY-Band

Lorenz Raab :XY-Band
Steger, Dienz, Raab. Pichler, Pirker
Dienz, Steger, Raab, Pirker, Pichler

Songs

from album HYPERDRIVE
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  • country:Austria
  • style(s):Rock, Impro
  • label:JAZZnARTS
  • type:Band, Composer/Songwriter, DJ/Remixer
  • gender:male
  • instrumentation:instrumental
  • artist posted by:Bigathing.very Special Music

Line up

  • Christof Dienz (electr. zither)
  • Herbert Pirker (drums)
  • Lorenz Raab (trumpet, flh.)
  • Matthias Pichler (double bass)
  • Oliver Steger (double bass)

Links

Lorenz Raab :XY-Band HYPERDRIVE
NEW album Oct 2011

Excentrical in instrumentation, vital in appearance and boldly oscillating between hellish grooves and celestial indulgencies, Lorenz Raab's :xy band is the ideal vehicle for extemporations between fever dreams and extasy.

Jazz: ambiguous like Miles Davis
Trumpeter Lorenz Raab with his splendid "XY-band" at Porgy & Bess Vienna

A trumpet, drums, two double basses, an electric zither: in this eccentric line-up any of the band members could be the leader: Christoph Dienz, who squeezes boldly progressive sounds out of his zither, the bass players, who have a hellish groove and a heavenly harmony, and drummer Herbert Pirker, who is at the central point of it all. In fact the leader of the :xy band is Lorenz Raab, born 1975 in Linz, Upper Austria, solo trumpet player of the Volksoper Vienna, hence financially not relying on his Jazz career. His intellectual independence he already proved in bands such as "Forms of Plasticity" or "Bleu". Bleu has published a very lyrical album "Strong Relation" in January 2009. The :xy band, however, impresses through the ease, it dives into dangerous worlds of sound, where soft textures change to boiling grooves and almost become nerve-wrecking in the end. It is up to the listeners whether they prefer to detect elements of cool jazz, fusion, funk or even acoustic drum'n'bass in it. The airy pieces of the :xy band are ambiguous without losing substance. This is a feature usually attributed to the trumpet-jazz of the great masters: Lee Morgan, Donaly Byrd, Miles Davis. Raab keeps to the side of the stage, gives room to his colleagues. When he puts the horn to his lips he tasts the mouth-piece, seems to suck the notes out of the instrument rather than blowing it. Thus this excellent ensemble reels through feverish dreams and extasy.
Samir Koeck (Die Presse)

The Lorenz Raab :xy band was founded in 2004 and soon gained cult status in Vienna's young music scene. The reasons for this the listeners may judge for themselves the inventive and unusual line up with trumpet, zither, two double bases and drums promises a musical world of sound and one thing becomes clear soon enough: XY music is fun and it grooves. This was realised increasingly also by those festivals which focus on exciting and innovative music projects in their programmes. Therefore the Lorenz Raab :xy band has already performed at the Jazzfest Saalfelden, at the 12 points festival in Stavanger, at the Festival SonAUs11 in Madrid and at Bezau Beatz. Also at Brucknerhaus Linz, at the Brass Festival in Bratislava and at Jazzfest Wien.
The music on the new album HYPERDIRVE was composed by all five band members and was produced especially for this CD by drummer Herbert Pirker. Lorenz Raab says that the music of the :xy band is inspired by electronic sounds. So the intention is to create new sounds acoustically, to broaden the spectrum of each instrument. If you know Raab and his fellow band members you know that they do not present intellectual experiments the groove factor and entertainment is still intact. The album will be launched by the Mannheim label Jazz ,n' Arts in October 2011.

His new thing called ":xy band" is a brillant one Sounds like Miles Davis blessedly doing somekind of drum'n'bass: Oliver Steger and Matthias Pichler care about the melodious
( contra - ) bassfigures and Herbert Pirker about the eccentric beats. Exchief of "die Knoedel" Christof Dienz paints unusual stringsounds on his e zither. Over this floating carpet of rhythm Lorenz Raab lays his wonderful trumpetlines and lifts off the thing finally. Grandiose Klaus Taschwer / Falter