Archive for Mathias Reumert

Announcing Ekkozone!

Ekkozone logo

Divine Art Recordings Group continues its growth and breadth of repertoire with the introduction of the Ekkozone label – with the first two releases set for November:

  • “ARGUMENTA” – works by Philippe Manoury and Maurice Ravel, performed by percussionists Mathias Reumert and Anders Elten
  • “ORULA” – works for mixed ensemble by Louis Franz Aguirre

BOTH ALBUMS TO BE RELEASED NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Mathias Reumert © Christoffer Askman
Mathias Reumert © Christoffer Askman

Ekkozone was, until recently, the name of the acclaimed contemporary ensemble run by Danish percussionist/conductor Mathias Reumert. Last year, however, the company shifted status. As Mr. Reumert states:  

“In late 2022 I came to realize that Ekkozone had transitioned into something more accurately described as a production house / curating agency. Our focus had shifted from playing concerts towards curating and producing. That’s when I decided to turn Ekkozone into a record label. The partnership between Ekkozone Records and Divine Art Recordings Group makes sense from so many angles. Most importantly, perhaps, is a shared sense of responsibility to be ambassadors of musical authenticity”.

The release from Ekkozone Records, “Argumenta”— works by Philippe Manoury and Maurice Ravel, has already received high accolades in magazines such as Klassisk and Fanfare. In his liner notes for the album, Philippe Manoury reflects on his music for percussion and offers insight into his new compositions, ‘Argumenta’ and ‘Suspension-Effondrements’, which are featured here in world premiere recordings.  This album is being relaunched with full worldwide CD and digital distribution by Divine Art in November.

November also marks the release of the album “Orula”, a journey into the world of exiled Cuban composer, Louis Franz Aguirre. “This music has the power of an exorcism, brutal and impenetrable”, notes Dr. Iván César Morales Flores in a statement on the upcoming release. “His music is a strange marriage of modernism with the mysteries of the Afro-Cuban Santería religion. Extreme sonorities, irascible micro-tonal melodic designs, frantic sound blocks, complex micro-rhythmic relationships and a wide range of unconventional timbral effects, are some of the components that articulate the exuberant language of Aguirre’s work”.  This album prepares the way for the first 2024 Ekkozone release – a programme of Aguirre’s music for Percussion Sextet (Ekkozone 2)

Divine Art/Métier Records Announces New Digital Percussion Album

In 2015 Métier released a DVD of solo percussion music performed by Danish virtuoso Mathias Reumert. “Solo – Contemporary percussion meets Art Cinema” (Métier MSVDX102) was presented in the highest artistic quality with the visuals in the hands top movie director Christian Holten Bonke. The use of special lighting and other techniques makes the DVD (also available digitally from Amazon Prime) a visual and audible treat. Mathias Reumert was awarded the Danish Critics’ Prize in 2015, a rare accolade indeed for a percussionist.

Métier are now about to issue an audio-only album based on the DVD but adding new tracks in place of the more ‘theatrical ‘ ones which require visual input. The new album will be issued only in digital download and streaming formats (including HD) and will appear on July 19 in dealers worldwide (and on the Divine Art website for pre-order by early June).

20th Century Solo Percussion Masterworks

Métier (ZME 50802)
Total duration approx 108 minutes
All items recorded between 2005-2014 except Zyklus (June 25, 2018)

Works

  1. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Zyklus No. 9
  2. Franco Donatoni: Omar
  3. Iannis Xenakis: Psappha
  4. Iannis Xenakis: Rebonds
  5. Karsten Fundal: Moebius #1
  6. Brian Ferneyhough: Bone Alphabet
  7. Hans Werner Henze: Five Scenes from The Snow Country
  8. Roger Reynolds: Watershed I