Sister in Kith Treppenwitz

• 1Staircase Stomp02:22
• 2Sound Logic / Sound Magic09:17
• 3Watching the Arc of Bats10:01
• 4Brave to Swim in This Weather05:05
• 5Brimful06:41
• 6Dream of a Common Language11:10
• 7Sockeyed / Loose Laces11:03
• 8A Mackerel's Tale06:11
• Total Runtime01:01:50

Info for Sister in Kith

"sister in kith" is the third album from Treppenwitz, the latest chapter in an ongoing story. The band set up with microphones in a living room; the engineer pressed record and they played. There was no separation between the instruments, and the audio has almost no post-production treatment. The results are startlingly immediate. sister in kith is simply the raw sound of these musicians, on that day, in that room, and the stunning audio quality seems to almost ignore that fact.

This organic ethos is equally present in the music. sister in kith demonstrates Treppenwitz's commitment to improvisation – which is to say, their commitment to using the present moment, the here and now, as the medium by which they dive into the unknown. Songforms are used a point of departure for explorations of sonic texture, harmonic sonority, rhythmic interplay and spontaneous interaction; sounds are configured and reconfigured in a deep dialogue of piano, bass and drums.

Influences come from far and wide. sockeyed / loose laces is a meditation in Bartokian rhapsodising; dream of a common language is a child of Paul Motian's rubato ballads; sound logic / sound magic is a roguish nod to Anthony Braxton; brimful is surreal Ornette swing. The final track, a mackerel's tale, featuring special guest Nel Begley, spins a narrative about a woman who metamorphoses into a sea creature. The end result is an album which is willing to borrow from anything and everything it can to achieve its aims.

This piano trio embraces multiple aspects of the improvised music tradition, resulting in music which is equal parts explorative, lyrical and explosively wild. In every performance, the shapes and contours of the music develop organically; different every time, always seeking. The sound is steeped in the free jazz of the 1960's, but the music can and does go anywhere: the blues, high modernism, celestial spiritual vamps and European folklore are all part of the family.

"This is a delight. Treppenwitz are a jazz trio for the new age, but with an intimacy and skill that is just perfect." (Mr Olivetti, FREQ)

"It’s intensity, it’s sensitivity, it’s manifest glories. It’s press and slide away stuff. Beautiful." (Martin Powell, JATP Jazz)

Matthew Aplin, piano
Tom Riviere, double bass
Steve Hanley, drums
Guest:
Nel Begley, voice (track 8)

Treppenwitz
is a project with a unique approach to improvised music. The central philosophy is that all music is related, outgrowths from the same seed; passages of explorative beauty and space sit alongside energetic bursts of freedom. Compositions are contributed by the members, with something open-ended deliberately in mind; the shapes and contours of the music develop organically, different every time, always seeking.

The band was formed in January 2014 after (though not because) a Philadelphian drummer, Matthew McGraw, left the city of Leeds. The music they make can be seen as an indirect response to this change of circumstance. With time and curiosity and willing at their disposal, they started to explore music from the free jazz movements of the 1960’s, with a view to carving out an original voice through the nuances of the idiom; their heroes were Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Paul Bley. Leeds was a place where a lot of people were making things happen on a grassroots basis, and situated within this vibrant milieu, they were well placed to start gigging, coming to form part of the fabric of the DIY music scene. Gradually they transitioned to playing exclusively original music.

In 2015, they were approached by New Jazz Records, a not-for-profit collective run by local musicians, to record an album at Leeds Fold Studio. That November, they spent 2 days in the studio, recording more than 3 hours of music. Their first album, Short+Long Ditties, released in 2016 by New Jazz Records, was compiled from these fruitful sessions.

Their first album released, and with generous support from Arts Council England and Jazz North, they toured the UK relentlessly, and the world started to hear their music. Through this process of continuous playing, the music developed rapidly, and the collective dynamic between them evolved to levels previously unimaginable. The sound kept changing, and they kept writing new music.

Recent engagements have included The Vortex, London; Jazz at the Lescar, Sheffield; The Canteen, Bristol; Manchester Jazz Festival; and many others.

In 2018, they were selected for Jazz North’s “Northern Line” touring support scheme.

Their second album, The Kennedys at Beaver Point, was released by New Jazz Records in January 2019.

Their third album, sister in kith, was released by Discus Music in February 2021.

This album contains no booklet.