End of Melancholism

Bands that are led by drummers are not as seldom as they once were, but still a somewhat rare affair. The quartet of drummer Christian Krischkowskyis already presenting it's second album The End of Melancholism and illustrates the advantages of such an approach in nine pieces, seven of which are from Krischkowsky's pen. Pieces like Would You Dance With Me? or Football Evolution sound rhythmically challenging, without deliberately placing the drums in the foreground. I wanted to incorporate the rhythmic ideas that I developed on drums even more into my compositions, Krischkowsky said. When composing, however, I always had my co-musicians with whom I recorded the album in mind. And they are really something else! Peter Ehwald is a saxophonist who always goes his own way, but at the same time has outstanding qualities in interaction. Peter is very freedom-loving, the band leader stated. He repeatedly makes suggestions to modify fixed structures, which may sound too beautiful, and improvise to make them more his own. This makes the pieces more spirited, more unpredictable and freer. This also reflects his personality. Marc Schmolling is a pianist with whom Christian Krischkowsky has almost blind understanding. I've known Marc the longest, and he's actually responsible for the band members coming together, he confessed. I appreciate his humor and admire how deeply he is rooted in tradition. At the same time, he also has something unwieldy and unpredictable in his play. Sometimes it sounds a bit cumbersome, but that is also exactly what constitutes his own style. Roland Fidezius on bass is responsible for the maneuverability of the quartet. He is closely intertwined with Krischkowsky's playing, but also keeps making surprising twists.