«Momentan_def.» consists of one 25-minute live recording of Tomas Korber, Günter Müller and Steinbrüchel performing together, and three remixes by the individual artists, for which they used their live performance as source material. Thus, the live recording serves to provide a representation of what these artists are capable of doing collaboratively, while their solo tracks each voice their own unique approach to sound.
This is very commonsensical, yet extremely effective, and a genuinely intriguing manner to present such a collaboration between artists.
The live recording consists of slowly developing layers that carefully shift into eachother, creating a subtle tapestry of crisp sounds. It's sometimes hard to believe three people are playing together at the same time, since everything sounds so discrete, careful, and well in tune with eachother – this is an achievement in iteself. The live performance brought together three generations of elctronic musicians. Korber's focus on the guitar (which is hardly recognizable as such), Müller's use of acoustic resonances, and Steinbrüchels slowly enveloping digital fields together create a wonderful journey that continues to amaze.
The three tracks of the individual artists are reminiscent of the live recording with which the CD kicks off. The subtle differences in their styles and approaches serve as possible points of recognition with which the live recording may be further mapped. A beautiful, concise presentation of a project undertaken by three talented musicians. Microsound lovers should not doubt a single moment and definitely pay some attention to this amazing record.
>Phosphor, 3.2004

Creating memorable improvisations without instruments is harder than it seems.
Just because a variety of sonics, timbres and textures are easily available to anyone with an Apple G3, mini-discs, other electronics and an ipod doesn't means that everything can be fixed or remixed in the machine. The same sort of compositional forethought and concern with dynamics and techniques has to go into creation.
That's why «Momentan_def.» is only partially satisfying. When the three Swiss-based reductionists interact on the live performances captured on the first track, some of the spaciousness and timelessness associated with microtonalists like AMM is apparent. But when the nearly 25-minute track is remixed by each individually, the experience and musical sophistication of one outshines the others.
«Momentan live» was recorded live at a Zürich concert in a room with 40-foot ceilings, located under an aqueduct and with trains passing overhead every 15 minutes. Despite this, the spacious resonance created by the three lower-case electroacoustians seems not to be affected by physical presence at all. In fact, except for what could be the intermitted drip of vapor, the output references tones that more resemble human snores and cricket chirps than anything wet or locomotive. Dense and almost impermeable, the crackling static is only sporadically pierced. These distortions could be from the effects pedal of Tomas Korber's guitar or be shaped into percussive vibrations by the electronics and mini-discs, of Günter Müller, who did start his musical career as a drummer.
German born Müller, who has lived in Switzerland since 1966, was using a unique drum set with a mobile pick-up and microphone system as early as 1981 and working with electronics by the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked with experimenters as varied as the electronic duo Voice Crack and American microtonal duo nmperign. His experience with acoustic and electronic improv is what makes his remix stand above the others. Rife with the usual unattributed noises such aviary chirrups, insect rhythms and the unmistakable sound of footsteps, it ends with pulsating pressure points molding themselves into calliope-like repetitions.
Fifteen years younger, the Hamburg-born, Zürich-raised Steinbrüchel has won awards for electronic compositions and works on a variety of collaboration projects. Steinbrüchel, who uses only one name, creates a remix that involves a stentorian single tone gradually increasing in droning volume and taking over the aural space carved out by mechanized motor turns and dripping water.
Moment's youngest participant, Korber, 24, studies psychology and computer science at the University of Zurich and was the founding member of a local experimental rock band. You can hear that in his remix. Except for a late arriving, pseudo dance beat, most of the sounds arise from mini-discs and electronics and are mixed with static oscillations and buzzes. There are some sprightly sections, but the overall effect is too diffuse to make a lasting impression.
With minimal instrumental imput the reductionist three have created a memorable title track. But when it comes to recasting the sounds, only sonic maturity adds anything more.
>Ken Waxman, Jazzweekly.com, 3.2004

This rapturous disc is the result of a live improvisation conducted under an aqueduct in Zürich, a 40-foot-tall acoustic space that perfectly matches Momentan's simulation of poised ebb and flow. Not standard microsound fair, of minimal movement or painfully obsessive blip-bending, the piece ingests each members' contribution, Korber's threadbare guitar scratch, Müller's increasingly spartan percussive manipulations, and Steinbrüchel's grainy drone cycles, lifting all in an undulant, misty passage across the broad hollow, action that plays perfectly on the disc's punning title. The piece seems obsessed with «momentum», full of sweeping static washs and low-level machine hums that arrive quickly and pointedly as if to establish motion, but are consistently buffered by contrastive elements more indicative of detail, or a particular "moment" staking its claim within the sinuous whole. Sections of Müller's inventive hitting and surface-testing frequently occupy both ends at once, coalescing into strands of rhythmic interference that are quick to fold under the weight (or lightness) of each stroke. Often Korber or Steinbrüchel will introduce thunderous or ominous sounds via processed feedback or laptop, as if only to watch the colored noise fade into the pale complexion of its surroundings. The level of communication between players that allows this pause-less dialogue to proceed is astounding. Any back-and-forth that appears in «momentan live» (the 30-min. improv session is accompanied by 3 remixes, one by each contributor) occurs underneath the opaque surface of the piece, and a dominant "voice" never comes to the front. The fluidity and graceful progression will recall Müller's recent solo work and Poire_Z's + record, but the real heroes of Momentan are Steinbrüchel and Korber. The young guitarist is a master of beautifully tempered feedback tones and frail note clusters that run nicely alongside the former's synthetic drones and microscopic click-tracks. Their combination allows for the darkly expressive sheen that coats this work, full of intricate, fleeting gradations. The three remixes are equally successful, if more single-minded pieces. Korber introduces a surprising amount of rhythm, his process more additive and loop-based than the others', crafting a bottom-heavy gem of post-technoid atmospherics. Steinbrüchel's is less engaging, a minimal reconstruction consisting of one deep, droning waveform that sounds directly pulled from Korber's feedback and layered with digital crickets and crackling fire. Müller's mix is the most sympathetic to the original, combining the churning pulses and short loops of Korber's take, with the Steinbrüchel's textural achievements to produce a highly differentiated piece that shares "momentan live"'s preoccupation with issues of drift and stasis. While not a landmark recording, the disc stands as a welcome addition to the catalogs of three artists at the top of their respective games.
>Andrew Culler, Brainwashed, 3.2004

English improvisor Phil Durrant is fond of using the term "laminal" - with its deliberate AMM connotations - to describe music such as this, in which traditional notions of foreground / background (solo / accompaniment, if you will) have been replaced by superimposed layers of activity, any one of which can serve as a focus of attention or just as well coalesce into a rich, shifting soundscape. I'm listening to this again on a train travelling through Belgium, eyes closed, rays of early morning sunlight flitting between adjacent trees and buildings creating a constantly changing pattern of retinal blurs, and it's curiously appropriate. Günter Müller is a past master when it comes to laying down carpets of opulent and delicate digital noise, and with the occasional muted yelps of Tomas Korber's guitar and the laptop interjections of Ralph Steinbrüchel, "Momentan" rapidly assumes that distinct sense of coherence associated with a well-defined musical style. To be sure, there's a lot of this stuff about (one thinks of Müller's outings on Erstwhile with Otomo Yoshihide and Toshimaru Nakamura and on his For4Ears label with Cut boss Jason Kahn and electronician dieb13, as well as the latter's work with Martin Siewert, Pure and Efzeg), but even if you're a devotee of the genre, you'll find much to appreciate and surprise you on Momentan Def.
The opening 25-minute track was recorded live in Zürich in November 2002 ("it was the first time we'd played as a trio," Korber explains, "and we had virtually no audience at all" - plus à change..), and the three subsequenttracks, entitled "def.rmx" are remixes of it by each of the performers (an approach also used to great effect by Werner Dafeldecker, Uli Fussenegger and dieb13 on 1999's Printer, Durian 011-2). Working with loops necessarily imposes an element of rhythm, and in Korber's remix pulse is occasionally made explicit without dragging the music into pale post-techno cliché, while Steinbrüchel's remix freeze-frames one of "Momentan"'s harmonic-rich drones, and sprinkles it with a fine powder of digital snap crackle 'n' pop. Müller's mix combines elements of both approaches, with superimposed pulse strata charting our progress through a dense rainforest inhabited by digital insects and amphibians. All three mixes are beautifully paced and draw the attentive listener deep into the music at each of its many levels. If Momentan Def. is a superb example of laminal improv and what can be done with it, the wonderfully titled Mistakes is nothing short of a revelation. Of course, nobody seriously expects that any musician worth his salt with access to a computer and today's sophisticated software would dream of releasing an album of unedited cock-ups; maybe that title refers to an element of chance in the reassembling and recontextualising of existing material into something more structurally cohesive, but whatever its signification, the results are utterly compelling.
>Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic, 3.2004

Kürzlich hat Günter Müllers einstiger Nacthluft-Partner Andres Bosshard auf der Berliner «Hörstürze»-Tagung eine merkwürdige Tatsache auf den Punkt gebracht: «Wenn ich nachts so laut brülle wie mein Motor, werde ich sofort verhaftet.» Um dem Lärminfarkt der Suche und dem tinnitus der Seelen vorzubeugen, plädieret er für eine akustische Müllabfuhr. Der For 4 Ears Macher Müller, Jahrgang 1954, im Verbund mit Steinbrüchel, Jahrgang 1969, und Tomas Korber, geboren 1979 in Zürich und damit der Einzige Original-Schweizer von den Dreien, fanden unter der Eisenbahnbrücke, die über den Bogen 13-Club in Zürich hinweg fährt, einen Platz, an dem sich, live am 17.11.02, ihre Geräuschwelt fugenlos und schadstoffarm dem städtischen Environment anschmiegte. Digitales Design, Minidisc & Ipod-Electronics und gitarrengeneriertes Rauschen verschmolzen zu einem ambienten Dröhnen, das sich unter den Aquäduktbögen, uber die all Viertelstunde ein Zug passiert, als welche Blase wölbte. Gleichzeitig technisch und organisch erfolgt eine Okkupation, eine Raumbesetzung, die sich spurlos wieder zurückziehen kann. Jeder der drei fertigte aus dem live erspielten knapp 25-minütigen «Momentan»-Stoff eine ca. 10-minütige Rmx-Version an. Korber eine im schnellen Stakkato rhythmisch gehammerte, spröde Techno-Fassung. Der Max Brand-Preisträger Steinbrüchel arbeitet mit Drones, die hinter einem «Regen»-Vorhang aus Vinylgknister obertonreich schimmern, auf-und abschwellend brummen und haarfein knistern. Und Müllers «Ruhe-Störung» lässt aus grilligem Gezirpe, einem dunklen Puls und mahlendem Knirschen ein Hyrbild sich entfalten, eine Klanglandschaft unter dem Vergrösserungsglas, in der sich erste, zweite, und x-te Natur untrennbar mischen zu einem environ-mentalen Konzentrat, das mitten in der urbanen Low-Fidelity Transparenz, Differenzierheit und subtile Spannungsmomente zu Bewusstsein bringt.
>A. Dittman, Bad Alchemy, 2.2004

Günter Müller siempre se ha caracterizado por llevar a cabo proyectos en los que las ínstalaciones sonoras y la architectura especial forman parte de una dimensíon en la que el riesgo y la intuición son la nota discordante. Desde los tiempos de Nachtluft, o en proyectos como «Telefonia o Puente Sonoro Berna», Müller se habia adentrado en otros terrenos como le eletrónica en vivo desarrollada en tiempo real. Eso Mismo, es lo que nos propone en compañia de Tomas Korber y Steinbrüchel, dos músicos radicados en Zürich, que al igual que Müller muestrangran interés por este tipo de proyectos, donde el espacio es determinante a la hora de ejecutar los instrumentos. En esta ocasión, el lugar elegido para la actuación fue un acueducto situado en las afueras de Zürich por el que los trenes circulaban cada cincuenta minutos. Aprovechando las resonancias obtenidas, los sonidos grabados son monitoreados en tiempo real y lanzados por los altavoces nos segundos despuís, creando un curioso efecto fruto de la electrónica procesada en vivo. Una vez más, el sonido del entorno sirve para crear un drone constante en el que los músico van superponiendo capas sonoras de extrema belleza. «Momentan_Def.», se convierte, por lo tanto, en un disco esencial para entender lo que es crear en tiempo real partiendo de las circunstancias del entorno. Cada uno de los músicos realizá remezclas posteriores de las grabaciones obtenidas en vivo en el ecueducto Bogen 13 de Zürich. El resultado es totalmente diferente, apreciándose en cada una de las tres piezas un despliegue de medios minimos, aunque muy precisos para conseguir una obra de cualidades cameristicas.
>Rogelio Pereira, Oro Molido, 1.2004

This collaboration between Tomas Korber, Gunter Muller and Steinbruchel is the result of a live recording session, which is presented here as the first track. Each artist then reworked this live material on the following three tracks.
The music presented is perhaps best classifiable as ¡¥microscopic¡¦. Subtle, processed sounds, which are highly detailed and gentle at the same time form an intricate soundscape which is somehow soothing and warm, like sleeping on a midsummer night in a field with crickets, nice.
>Funprox, 1.2004

Prendi un live caldo ed astratto, visionario ed onirico per certi versi, quasi pittorico verrebbe da dire, poi concentrati sui movimenti flessuosi del suono che si muove ed acquista consistenza succhiando linfa dal silenzio e dal buio, se ne possono quasi stabilire le forme, assaporarne il peso. Poi fai uno sforzo ulteriore; concentrati sui sottili dialoghi intessuti fra i tre musicisti. Sentine il calore. Ti appariranno se provi a chiudere gli occhi delle zone d’ombra intessute da sottili filamenti di colore scuro e denso, ti sentirai rinfrancato ed al contempo soddisfatto per non essere incappato nel solito ammasso sonoro senza senso di stampo glitch. L’empatia creatasi fra i tre durante l’improvvisazione impressiona letteralmente per conoscenza e capacità, il suono fluisce dall’uno all’altro in maniera organica senza intoppi mantenendo inalterata l’atmosfera rarefatta ed oscura che si è andata placidamente creando. E’ un attimo magico quello vissuto in quella serata e tu lo stai vivendo sulla tua pelle in questo momento; sei fortunato tutto sommato. Dura circa venti minuti il rapimento ed attendi il momento dei remix ad opera degli stessi musicisti con curiosità mista a terrore poiché il tutto dolorosamente potrebbe essere privato di quell’energia quasi magica. Ma poi il tutto con tua sorpresa si riorganizza e si tramuta in materiale sorgente con il quale ci vengono servite tre remiscelazioni dove se possibile il lavoro fin qui svolto si plasma e si ridefinisce in un qualcosa di ancor più sottilmente carnale; quasi tattile. Korber innesca una serie di modulazioni reiterate che in alcune occasioni si avvicinano caracollanti a territori prossimi alle battute più astratte care ai Pan Sonic, eppure la materia svolazza da una parte all’altra sbriciolando velocemente questa impressione, certamente è la visione più terrena ma in questo contesto quasi necessaria; è un lento abbassarsi di quota per osservare le nuvole più da vicino prima di ripartire. Steinbrchel nella sua versione si appropria delle interferenze e di una buona parte dello spettro sonoro basso facendo specchiare ed infrangere i suoni uno dentro l’altro con una visione d’insieme molto isolazionista o più semplicemente molto Main se si vuole. Calde soluzioni; liquide e fortemente lisergiche. Infinitesimali dettagli sonori vengono ingranditi più e più volte al microscopio mentre sotterranei drones scorrono all’orizzonte. Chiude Mller concentrandosi sulla pulsazione sotterranea e trasfigurata delle basse frequenze in un gioco di luci ed ombre che traghetta il tutto verso la giusta conclusione donandoci la certezza di essere al cospetto di un’opera fortemente comunicativa che potrebbe essere tranquillamente consigliata anche a chi non ha dimestichezza con il genere. Ma che questo fosse stato un disco ad alto dosaggio lisergico come lo era stato ai suoi tempi "Sulphur" di Scanner chi lo avrebbe mai detto? Come affondare il naso nel Glicine…….
>Sergio Eletto, Sands Zine, 12.2003

Eine Gitarre soll der Besetzungsliste nach vorkommen, und in winzig kurzen Momenten glaubt man sie in diesem Klanggeräuschgewebe noch zu entdecken, in dieser zirpend-schwebend so naturhaften und doch elektronisch erzeugten Klanglandschaft. Entstanden ist die Musik der ersten halben CD-Stunde am 17.November 2002 in Zürich unter der leibhaftigen, also konzertanten Mitwirkung von Tomas Korber (guitar, mds, electronics), Günter Müller (mds, ipod, electronics) und (Ralph) Steinbrüchel (g3). Doch dann haben sich alle drei Musiker nochmals hinter diese reichhaltigen Klänge gemacht und aus dem ≥momentan live„ je einen ≥def. rmx„ hergestellt. Und wenn zunächst äusserlich auffällt, wie ähnlich einander diese drei Remixes mit ihren flächigen Entwicklungen, ihren ruhigen, manchmal subkutanen Pulsationen und dem Fehlen von Gestik sind, so entfaltet sich beim längeren Hineinhorchen doch die Konsequenz dieser Gestaltungsweisen. Freilich auch: Die Remixes lassen die interaktiv geborene, ursprüngliche Version noch vielfältiger erscheinen.
>Thomas Meyer, Jazz n' More, 12.2003

Momentan.def kruist field recordings en improvisatie met digitaal geluidsexperiment. De vier composities op deze cd werden live opgenomen onder een aquaduct in Zürich, terwijl boven de hoofden van de muzikanten elke vijftien minuten een trein vorbij raasde. Verwacht je aan de elektronisch simulatie van natuurgeluiden (waterdruppels, wind, krekels), tot hahet gezoem van elektro-apparatur of ondefinieerbare, obscure geluidsmanipulaties.
>Rifraf, 12.2003

It begins with the rumble of a train passing overhead, the vibrations of the Bogen 13 viaduct in Zürich passing through the space, the equipment, the bodies gathered there, for a performance by three creative improvisers, Tomas Korber, Günter Müller and Steinbrüchel, men of different ages and temperaments, different talents, voices, and experiences, using electronic devices, a guitar, minidiscs, an iPod and a computer, and from this starting point, the vibrations never cease, they course through the space and time of the concert, even as the trains have long since passed, the dissonant sounds, rumbles, drones, tensions, frictions, delicate clicks and crackles weave a careful and evolving web, a stunning work of electronic improvisation, a captivating and immensely rewarding experience, after which each contributor revisits the sound material and presents a separate, shorter mix, a restructuring, or reinterpretation of the events, and here their singular visions shine through the collaborative effort to reveal distinct voices once more, before our senses become deafened by the returning rumble of a train passing overhead, by yet another journey, another passage in time.
>Richard di Santo, incursion.org, 12.2003

Beautiful sound colours for one of the best computer/electronic releases I put my hands on in 2003. Recorded live in Zurich, this record shows Thomas Korber, Günter Müller and Steinbruchel at perfect ease handling and dissecting sounds springing out of various sources, including a guitar. Of course you won't be left without the familiar clicking and glitching but those common factors almost disappear in a blue sea of obscure, sometimes barely perceivable low/middle frequencies. Out-of-nowhere purrs and electric massages wander all around the brain, relaxing the nerves and letting out many different messages; it could be perplexing at first but - as time passes and you get acquainted with the music - a sort of addiction grows and you'll miss these dronescapes when everything's over.
>Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes, 11.2003

Here is an interesting concept, though not really new: a live recording of an improvisation recorded by Tomas Korber, Gunter Muller and Steinbruchel plus each of them doing a remix using the concert as the source material. A guitarist, a drummer and a laptop player -although each one crosses into another terrain frequentely. The concert was held under the aquadauct in Bogen13 in Zurich with trains passing every fifteen minutes and a forty-foot ceiling. Not that any of that is relevant to the recording. The three players move carefully along the lines of audibility with their microscopic detailled sound, fine tuned crackles and non-descript percussive sounds - they all move in and out in a very gentle, almost natural way. The remix by Korber is the loudest one, bringing volume back in line, with some heavy looped towards the end of his piece.
Steinbruchel plays the softer card again, but his interest lies principally in using drone like sound, with small treatments in the high end. Gunter Muller's remix on the other hand evolves more around pulsating rhythms (but of course not in techno vein), but quite atmospheric. Both in live recording and remixes this is excellent microsounding material.
>Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly 396, 11.2003

Incorporating Tomas Korber's guitar only deepens the already dense saturation of noise Olympics. Though this is a brilliant melding of fine tones and monotones, there is a barren distance between the player and the listener. It's a cool place to be, making the sound more or less a stream of consciousness object-like being or presence. As the tenth release from Cut, Momentan_Def shows a certain sophisticated direction for the budding label. At times it wriggles snakelike and pans out to a ship's mast prior to a storm at high sea. There are smothered groans and lonely hollows as things here seem to develop organically.
After the title cut, each of the trio take turns remixing "Def." to stunning effect. Starting off with Korber's version we are confronting unbridled seasickness in the face with its tilt and lull wavering lopsidedly in a way that makes one blush green. The acoustics turn 360 to a submissive static that smolders. Steinbruchel is next up with his vibratory take on the piece that is at once watery, in an upstream direction. This is a bit of a treble drone that doesn't take off to far, just sort of hovers and veers off into the horizon. Gunter Muller's use of the iPod in his rendition wakens the insects and the night beasts working the haunted background to great effect. Rapturous cricket crawling crackles and steely cauldrons of ambiguous brew creep and prance through this organically-shaped canvas.
>TJ Norris, Igloo, 11.2003

I heard the young Swiss guitarist Tomas Korber earlier this year, having previously known nothing of him, and was very impressed with his performance as he, in a way, took some of the ideas initially developed by Fripp & Eno (though I don’t think Korber was particularly cognizant of them) and extended them into more abstract realms, mixing in a bit of sand and grit but retaining the essential fluidity of that approach. On this disc, he’s teamed with maestro Gunter Muller and laptop-wielder Steinbruchel performing one 25-minute improv after which each has the opportunity to create a remix.
The main piece, “Momentan Live”, is very “Muller-esque”, that is to say smoothly undulating, containing subtle pulsations and a near endless stream of detail that may not be apparent on first hearing. It’s impossible to tell who was responsible for what and (not being very familiar with Steinbruchel) perhaps the three are simply on a similar wavelength, but listeners aware of Muller’s own output will note some degree of likeness even as it branches out into its own space. It’s a lovely improvisation, quietly and liquidly flowing as it goes about establishing a natural level of interaction and detail. As in the best of this sort of work, there’s an unhurried and contemplative quality, the three musicians examining angles in varying lights, calmly making directional choices. One gets the impression of the three being sanguinely amused by the surprises that result.
The remixes are far more differentiated, though equally successful. Korber’s version begins in the same fluid atmosphere as the original but soon injects strong, skipping beats, transforming it into a work that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in an especially adventurous dance club. Steinbruchel opts for a further extension into its spacier characteristics, constructing a slightly throbbing lamina of hazy electronics, preserving enough of an edge to keep from lapsing into fluff. Muller’s remix is the strongest, building on the original with layer upon perfectly chosen layer of sound, all distinct and beautiful enough to stand on their own, all abutting and contrasting with each other wonderfully, giving the listener an endless series of possible relationships to concentrate on or allowing one to simply lay back and let the totality wash over. A fine disc, one that shouldn’t escape notice by fans of this area of music.
>Bagatellen , 11.2003

Beautiful sound colours for one of the best computer/electronic releases I put my hands on in 2003. Recorded live in Zurich, this record shows Thomas Korber, Günter Müller and Steinbruchel at perfect ease handling and dissecting sounds springing out of various sources, including a guitar. Of course you won't be left without the familiar clicking and glitching but those common factors almost disappear in a blue sea of obscure, sometimes barely perceivable low/middle frequencies. Out-of-nowhere purrs and electric massages wander all around the brain, relaxing the nerves and letting out many different messages; it could be perplexing at first but - as time passes and you get acquainted with the music - a sort of addiction grows and you'll miss these dronescapes when everything's over.
>Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes, 11.2003

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