«Konus», the hyper-meta-electro-acoustic solo album of German drummer Christian Lillinger was inspired by the book of Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard’s «Korrektur» (Correction, 1975), in which the protagonist retreats to an attic to design the «perfect» cone, described by the narrator as the «thought dungeon». In a similar way, Lillinger’s «Konus» is his own  «thought dungeon» that entailed revision, continuous questioning and reflection of his work as well as any necessary corrections. It represents a multifaceted perspective on his musical language as a musician, composer and producer, as the mixing, mastering and production of music and sound are n integral parts of his compositional process.

The 17 numbered «Vertex» (turn, rotate) pieces reflect the chronological order in which they were created throughout 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic lockdowns. Lillinger wanted that each piece would contrast the next one, and each one would offer arbitrary changes in tuning and de-tuning within a phrase, in order to trigger realms of unplayable and sonically impossible music. These pieces appear in song-like structures, sound collages as well as beats.

«Konus» is a sonic journey between coherent compositions, associative collages and bold experiments. The album reflects Lillinger’s rich and restless musical imagination and his inclusive language as well as his interest in sculpting sound and shaping it as a vivid and tangible entity. The short pieces visit abstract and minimalist electronic music, fractured dance beats, orchestral ideas, chamber piano music and brief microtonal textures. Surprisingly, this puzzling and kaleidoscopic journey accumulated into a coherent and intoxicating work of art.

Eyal Hareuveni

Christian Lillinger (dr, perc, p, elec), Petter Eldh (b), Christopher Dell (vib), Jonas Westergaard (b)