Bell's echo with Kali Malone – a review – happy – Electronic Music from Leipzig

Bells-echo evenings are usually something special. With experimental music at extraordinary concert locations. The past issue topped all of this again.

In recent years, the Bells-echo-IIIIIIM series has brought some top-class ambient and experimental acts to Leipzig. Ben Frost was in the UT, William Basinski in the Phillipuskirche and Maja Shenfield played in the Heilandskirche. Last Saturday, Bell's Echo was able to “celebrate” his tenth anniversary with a new highlight – at one for Leipzig and the music history extremely important: the Thomaskirche. Once a place of work by Johann Sebastian Bach, now tourism magnet. The almost a hundred meter long admission snake may have been an unusual picture for the Thomaskirche.

It seemed a little as if the city's most hypedtiest club was here. Apparently the organizers also had with such a rush: not on the inside. Although the church was already well filled, the concert had to start a little later because people were still getting over.

Around 8:30 p.m. Kali Malone then runs over the gallery to the huge stream organ and waves down into the visitor room casually. The composer and organist living in Sweden has left very impressive musical traces in the past seven years. Especially with its minimalist, contemplatively interwoven and contemporary organ, which raise the ambient to a completely different level.

The Thomaskirche is the perfect place for your music. Your long -played, moving sounds receive an appropriately sublime framework here. At first it still looks quite quiet, it takes something for my ears to get used to the non -microphone concert. But the simple-impressive and high space of the Thomaskirche resonates quickly and creates the right balance. Kali Malone's fine sound layers can be heard in full clarity; And even noticeably noticeable in the deep frequencies.

Collective drift

Also wonderfully that the classic concert setting is canceled by the church organ situation-the instrument increases far up-the classic concert setting. Kali Malone is practically not visible. Thus, the focus is involuntarily directed on the music. And that works extremely well. Many closed eyes can be seen in the audience-the mass dives, and can be taken into account on the gentle-sacred and yet modernly arranged atmosphere of Kali Malone's pieces. So much that nobody dares to applaud during the breaks. Strong moments of silence and exhorted. And the collective dreaming, drift of thought and certainly partially bolting.

After the first three pieces, Stephen O'malley, founding member of the legendary drone thunder band Sunn o))) and since 2023 husband of Kali Malone, comes with. He supports them for the four -handed pieces to play four hands. The result: other tonal layers, sometimes a little more dynamic and a long end. Even after the last piece, it stays still-until Kali Malone rises and bowed with the audience and the Bach organ. After that, the pent -up fascination and joy over this experience breaks the visitors: Heruas inside – with a long final applause.

A new milestone for Bell's Echo – and a wonderful premiere in the Thomaskirche. Gladly again.

All pictures by Susann Bargas Gomez