Markus Reuter with Mannheimer Schlagwerk – Sun Trance (Moonjune Records, 2020)
Prolific German musician Markus Reuter has released three different albums simultaneously: Sun Trance; an experimental freeform album called Shapeshifters; and Oculus Nothing is Sacred. Sun Trance is one of the finest in my opinion. The music was recorded in front of a live audience in Mannheim, Germany, in 2017.
On this occasion, the innovative electric guitar player uses his familiar Touch guitar to weave in mesmerizing melodies, soundscapes and profound evolving improvisations joined by a spellbinding ensemble playing trancelike music on vibraphones, glockenspiels, crotales and other instruments. The delicate bell-like metallic sounds of the vibraphones, crotales and glockenspiels generate a magical, dreamtime atmosphere that is deeply satisfying.
The musicians on the album are Markus Reuter on Touch Guitars AU8 and soundscapes; and the Mannheimer Schlagwerk collective led by vibraphonist and producer, Dennis Kuhn. Mannheimer Schlagwerk features Dennis Kuhn on vibraphone; Ti-Hsien Lai on vibraphone; Luis Andrés Chavarría Báez on glockenspiel; Lukas Heckmann on glockenspiel and shaker; Marius Fink on crotales and shaker; Oğuz Akbaş on crotales and shaker; Maria Wunder on bass clarinet; Patrick Baumann on electric guitar; Johannes Engelhardt on electric bass; Hye-Rim Ma on synthesizer; Linda-Philomène Tsoungui on drums.
Buy Sun Trance