Washington Post / USA
Where the Glitterati Go to Listen, Hip-Hop Meets Indian Classical
by Emily Wax
..........At 11:15, the evening’s live band explodes onto the stage. It’s a six-man Austrian hip-hop group called Bauchklang, which might be translated as “tummy tones.” They have no instruments.
They do bass with ultra-fast roars from the gut, they whistle, they blow out puffs of air – all the time holding microphones close to their lips. They make keyboard sounds with blips and burps and mouth clicks. The group’s latest CD describes one member as “mouth percussion,” another as “human beatbox.”
All of the sounds are amplified; the bass makes the whole room tremble. Clubgoers, in awe, pour onto the dance floor. Everyone is grooving and moving......read more
Mumbai
Mirror /
india
From
bass to cymbals, drums to snare, Bauchklang produces sounds using just
one instrument – the mouth
Posted On Saturday, March 01, 2008
Kevin Lobo
The human body is capable of things that you can’t even begin to fathom is what every scientist says, just ask Bauchklang, a band of beat boxers from Austria performing tonight in the city. Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion. It is the art of producing drum beats, rhythm.........read more
hindustantimes
/
india
In a digital age, a band of Austrians reminded Mumbai of the voice`s wonders.
March 01, 2008
Purva Mehra
A capella (Latin from the chapel or choir) has western religious roots but has lately spread through a variety of US universities with its latest adherents being HINDI-based groups..........read more
Time
Out Mumbai
/ india
city guide and fortnightly listing magazine
Austrian vocal groove project Bauchklang looks deep within to create a
unique sound, says Amit Gurbaxani.
The
members of Austrian group Bauchklang predict that two things will happen
at their concerts. For the first few minutes, the audience will stand
and stare in disbelief. A couple of songs later, the crowd will stop being
incredulous because they’re too busy dancing.
Bauchklang,
whose name loosely translates as
“the sound from the belly”, follows in the tradition of groups
such as American pop and jazz quartet the Mills Brothers and Cuban
salsa music band Vocal Sampling, who produce the
sound of an entire band with their voices.
However, unlike the Mills Brothers, who could replicate a jazz band, and
Vocal Sampling, who can
sing as a Latin orchestra, Bauchklang’s music is more dance-oriented
and their songs traverse genres such as hip hop and drum n’ bass.
Unlike the other outfits, Bauchklang – which now comprises Alex Boec,
Andreas Fraenzl, Gerald Huber, Philipp Sageder and Bina – says that
though they are a “band” they don’t make their voices substitute
for instruments. Instead, “we try to find new sounds”, said
Boeck over the telephone from Sankt Pölten, Bauchklang’s recording
base.........read
more
origines : l'autriche est trop peu souvent évoquée au rayon musique. rectifions dès à présent le tir pour examiner de près bauchklang, jeune formation plus remarquée pour ses performances scéniques que pour ses albums; en l'espace de quelques années, ses membres ont assuré plus de 160 concerts à travers la planète avec un seul disque à leur actif ! voilà peut-être comment expliquer le titre de leur second opus, many people, attendu aussi bien par la critique musicale que par les festivaliers ayant déjà eu l'occasion d'applaudir le groupe aux trans musicales ou aux vieilles charrues.
ingrédients : de bons micros, de solides cordes vocales et une certaine énergie participent à l'osmose nécessaire à la bonne réception des intentions musicales de bauchklang. Car les six artistes ont décidé de laisser de côté tous les instruments traditionnels pour réaliser leur musique uniquement à base de sons humains. la très large palette des styles musicaux qui en résulte est d'ailleurs sensationnelle : drum, drum'n'bass, électro up-tempo, groove, hip-hop... tout y passe ! 17 morceaux éclectiques de ce groupe autrichien unique en son genre sont à découvrir pour le plaisir des oreilles...
ces mecs sont forts. sacrément balèzes. 6 personnes, un micro par tête et leurs lèvres en guise d’instruments. ces autrichiens posent une nouvelle pierre à l’évolution musicale en mettant leur bouche au service de « many people ». depuis leur premier opus « jamzero » déjà impressionnant, les gars de bauchklang, ou « son du ventre » en allemand se sont forgés une réputation de beatbox humaine géante qui va bien au-delà de ce qu’on connaissait déjà.
Ici, c’est du sérieux. dites vous que sans le savoir, on est pris au piège tant les imitations de beats, basse et mélodie sont parfaites ! avec plus de 160 concerts à leur tableau de chasse et toujours applaudis, ils ont su repousser leurs limites vocales en exploitant à fond leurs capacités, chacun des six membres ayant sa propre spécialité. Ils nous livrent donc un album abouti, très mature et réfléchissant leurs multiples influences.
bluffant est un mot bien faible pour qualifier leurs prestations scéniques. sur « many people », le mélange des genres est vaste, et on navigue entre l’électro groovy « rhythm of time » et « Good you do », le trip hop envoûtant sur « radio », le breakbeat puissant de « navigator » et autres tracks puisant leur source dans le ragga, le dub ou la pop.
un groupe hors du commun qui mérite le coup d’oreille (et le coup d’œil, s’ils passent par chez vous), quel que soit le style que vous affectionnez!
ils jouent des cordes vocales comme ils joueraient d´un instruments
pour nous offrir des morceaux influencés aussi bien du hip hop, la drum&bass, l´electro ou meme le ragga.leur premier album "jamzero"sorti en 2001, leur a permis de tourner dans le monde entier et de se faire un nom auprés du public toujours époustouflé par leur performances (a marsatac, notamment!). ils revienennt avec un nouvel album, réfléchiet mur au style toujours aussi inclassable. oscillant entre leurs multiples influences, on peut retrouver dans cet album un dub suave, des rythmes frénétiques avec un morceau d&b "navigator" ou une électro envoutante, "many people".
vraiment impressionnant!
JUICE / magazine / (02/06)
artik
‘many people’ (klein records) album
hailing from vienna and signed to upcoming label klein, bauchklang’s second album is a joy to behold. Billed as a ‘vocal groove project’, many people uses the six vocalists in the bauchklang collective to full effect. mixing in with these great lyrics is some of the most refined, cool electronic beats and cut ups you’re likely to hear for at least a little while.
think of jazzanova with their emphasis twisted toward the voice and
you’re somewhere close to bauchklang’s sound. 8/10
ali burge / anne savage
unbelievable! literally. the first time I listened to bauchklang's "many people", the groups first album since 2001, I thought "what an interesting sound". it had a quality I just couldn't place. It sounded... different. the instrumentation was clean and rhythmic, melodic yet methodical and I could tell some of it was beatbox. the truth is, it's all beatbox and that's what is so hard to believe.
despite the fact that there are no synthesizers at work, bauchklang, the six member band self-described as a "vocal groove project" is firmly rooted in electronic music. you'll hear influences from sources as varied as dub, drum'n'bass, 80s wave, and hip-hop, and their sound is so tight, you won't have any idea of the trouble behind recording this album, from personnel changes to their very personal desire to prove they can produce more than one critically acclaimed album.
equal parts experimental and accessible, many people leaves no doubt that bauchklang are a musical force that deserves attention and praise. from standout tracks like the spatial and circulating "12/8", to "rhythm Of time" and it's undeniably deep groove, and on to the down tempo vibe of "radio", or the mid-tempo, percussive groover "navigator", this album unfolds one surprise after another.
bauchklang have delivered an exceptional work. It's hard to believe the human voice can be used to produce such solid bass kicks and synth-like tones. listening to the rhythms and melodies these six musicians lay down with such inhuman precision and depth is nothing short of astounding. netversion
musicchannel
/ A (3-11/2005)
on -many people-, bauchklang presents themselves audibly matured, although
not less playful than in the past. it seems like they're still havin'
fun - and it's absolutely contagious!
the album completely inspires the listener to want to catch the next live
concert.. and that's defiantly the best way of putting it! over the years
the band has accumulated an impressive repertoire of tracks, which makes
BK extraordinary in their live-performances. in this sense, bauchklang
is practically incomparable with (almost) any other austrian act.
the magic of vocal-music proves to grab audiences every time.
you gotta groove! full
german version
mankurier
/ A (7-11/2005)
vienna - it took a long time…. two years ago, the release of the
new album of the austrian band 'bauchklang' was already being talked about.
at the beginning of the new millenium, the vocal-based synthetic sounds
of Bauchklang swept dust off of stages both international and local.
Tomorrow- friday, the time has come: "many people" (Klein/Universal)
presents the six musicians from a more mellow, melodic, complex and political
side - which overall has a very catchy aspect.
less repetitive, with more "classical" melodies, bauchklang
delivers an album which goes beyond the prerequisite of meeting their
former hype. full
german version
az
/ kultur / ch (22-04/2004)
even if there are no instruments, the vocal groove project bauchklang
acts as a collective like any other band...
there`s a frontman which is the medium between stage and crowd, the rhythm section to set the pace and at least the harmony part for creating soundspecials around...vocals and gutturally souds instead of strings...
bauchklang is predicated as to be musical on the fringes, fantastic transeunt to the 21 century...
from the very first nothing was missing. plentiful rhythm, a powerful vibrating bass, from the left one guy with percussive energy and frontman andreas fränzl was singing through a variegated soudcollage within the next one and a half hours...
tiroler
tageszeitung (21-07/2003)
mouthbeats and mouthpercussion//
the tyrolean daily newspaper talked to andreas fränzl...
BK:...a
new CD is going to be released in autumn 2004.
in the meantime we are working on our new songs and live performances...
magazin
message (04-06/2003)
...without instruments............
their impressive and unique live shows made bauchklang internationally known and the crowd were swept off their feet.
the message and two members of bauchklang (andreas fränzl/lead voc. & gerald huber/beatbox) got together for a detailed interview. it took place in a small, sunny flat in vienna
interview in extracts:
message: your touring period is over now and you`ve more time to look ahead and pre-plan! so, what are your impressions regarding the last year? you`ve been almost everywhere in europe, even in canada...
BK: well...we performed all the year round, it was quite intensive and we had lots of impressions !! a couple of big festivals invited us...we were a good many times in france, also in netherland, belgium, italy, denmark, switzerland.
we had, for example, the room to perform at roskilde and drum&rhythm festival in amsterdam. that`s exciting and you have to be grateful...but montreal jazzfestival, in any case, was a highlight...
magazin
morgen/a (04/2003)
........supernova........
if there has been a figurehead for austrian cultural export in the last few years, it must have been "bauchklang"...a contribution to society, self created and independent, a unique, new style...
it takes for garanted that it took bauchklang long lasting work and for them seen as a matter of course.
the
fascination of live performance is charming and the musical originality
and composition is no contradiction in terms. it`s kind of synergy between
studio project and live show. " our next album should provide an
indication of songs made in the studio in rigorous combination with live
emotion..so the songs will be tougher and closer to the life feeling....
magazine
ventilo/ marseille (23/10/02)
...the
six whities satisfy in their short but intense set expections aroused
by their first album...
...one starts with the beat, followed by a heavy bass-line, then a didgeridoo
more real than a real one and an incrisive rap coagulate into a sound
which is dense enough that one wonders where the machines may be hidden.
harmony, dynamics, soli, fat rhythmic ascensions, it`s all there, brought
forth with an almost timid stage conduct...
hiphop`s well known principle of the human beat-box is impressingly multiplied
by the mutual completion of these six guys, a bit in the tradition of
those black american scat groups.
absolutely well astonishing.
magazine
la cote/nyon/ch (26/07/02)
the austrians of bauchklang reinvent the genre and push it further beyond its limits.
...not only the technical achievement leaves one speechless, but also the music stands ist ground all the way through, this probably is the secret that propels these austrians well ahead of the scene...
magazine
le matin/nyon/ch (25/07/02)
crowd gone crazy // paleo festival nyon
after
a remarkable achievance as last act in the club tent at
paleo festival, the vocal groove project presented itself yesterday
at the chapiteau. the austrian group profited of the prime time slot
to attain a numerous crowd, but only their talent permitted to create
such a high-spirited ambience in such a short time.
these six men travel with light baggage... for they only have as instruments
their voices and microphones.
each of them has his speciality: from the human beat-box over
the mc to the bassman. but bauchklang is no circensic event,
but a veritable musical spectacle, harmonizing hip hop, groove, ragga
and even techno.
the impressed crowd celebrated them wildly.
magazine
la cote/nyon/ch (25/07/02)
bauchklang's performance stupefies the numerous crowd
whether
informed about these six austrians using only their microphones and voices
or not, the crowd couldn't believe
their ears. bauchklang proves not only capable of reproducing
a broad variety of percussion sounds, but also one of electronic ones,
like scratches and even electric guitars. thus they create
an intrigeuing music. up to the point that the astonished crowd simply
forgets to clap their hands or to dance. the vocal hip hop
of bauchklang, met with influences of reggae and drumnbass, absolutely
stands up to the comparison to electrically fortified groups, if not even
richer and more varied in repertoire. moreover, their performance is that
intensive that it lends an extra human
and physical aspect to their music.
one of the revelations of this festival.
magazine
le soleil/quebec/ca (09/07/02)
the austrian voice mistery
six
Austrians, whose voices and breaths generate a whole orchestra…
the crowd at the periscope leaped from their seats after they realized
that they could believe their eyes and ears…
what makes bk's success is that they can offer more than their amazing
performance, namely a dynamic and inventive musical repertoire - no wonder
that the people didn't even let them catch their breath before the next
dacapo…
one
of the most recommendable acts of the festival.
st.p.konkret
(4/2002)
two "amadeuses" for bauchklang roaring applause and cheers like for no other formation this austrian music awards evening...
bk
sets a counterpoint against commercial superficiality in not imitating,
but being the avantgarde, having become an european, even a global act...
setting new standards worldwide. putting the emphasis on art rather than
business...
the crowd thanks and supports them with amazement and enthusiasm...
la
vanguardia / music mag spain / dec. 2001:
transmusicalles illuminates a star: bauchklang.
no exaggeration and no mistake possible. rennes was it where a tremendous supernova made its explosive apparition before our eyes and ears. until the day before yesterday, the advanced viennese pregnancy was at best known to ceratin circles of astrophysicians, but after their scorching flight through a brimful Liberté, the blinding luminosity of bauchklang is a worldwide topic.
libération france/nov.2001:
festival transmusicales du rennes:
clad
in black t-shirts, the six austrians do the spectacle only with the power
of their vocal chords, putting into place the synth and other ... modern
instruments...
their concert lets the beatbox of saian supa crew look like a harmless
technical demonstration...BK was indeed the sensation of this festival
...one of the concerts where the otherwise restlessly roaming festival visitor stayed put...almost 7000 visitors&music-freaks celebrated this performance as one of the coolest around...big hype to BK!!!
gap
magazine/nov. 2001:
festival/avalon/upper austria
six men with mikes produce a sound which massively stimulates the body. exactly how such sated grooves and precise beats are conjured up, remains inexplainable and is at best comprehensible through excessive use of synergy of mike and mouth... the perfect interaction of the re-humanized instruments enables bauchklang to be something else than just niche-sitters. their gigantic spectrum of grooves and beats surpasses genres and enters musical culture as a post-electronic consequence.
two years ago, at the beginning of the recording of the album, the aim was to recreate the live experience on record most authentically. but the exploring of the various recording techniques - how vocal signals can be dismantled, filtered and remixed - brought new experimental possibilities and new ideas, which then again influenced the live performance...
WOM magazine/germany/nov.2001
...on stage, there's heavy work until exhaustion...
...munich, muffathalle. 3000 people catch their breath, but stubbornly cling to their tightly measured space... on stage, these six austrians are letting off steam and keep a diabolic brew of hiphop, ragga, triphop and trance cooking and bubbling...
their still fresh album jamzero could be found on stage only in fragments... "we're not interested in repeating things we already did", says fraenzl, "we want to bring our voices into action in a way in which they are not easily recognizable as voices anymore."
...we don't want to disappoint the boys, but this goal has long been reached. which delights us again, because the recording device won't cool out yet... stefan krulle/wom
live magazine/culture 2001/02
...what
bauchklang let down on their listeners -from drum'n'bass to reggae- definetely
is globally unique and related to traditional a-cappella only insofar
as there are used no instruments but the human voice.
...the results can be heard on the recently released album. this draws
a -literally!- breathtaking curve between contemporary styles like dub,
drum‚n'bass-esthetics over ragga to more technoid sound structures, which
can as well tip into ethno as into quiet ambient sounds.
with their project without competition, bauchklang managed to stir the
scene overlapping genres... an almost unbelievable success which the exceptional
artists will carry across europe this fall... if one hasn't seen and heard
it himself, he won't believe it!
concerto/music magazine/oct.,nov.2001
...ultimate
fusion of man and machine...a concept which is intrigueing in its innovation.
basically,
the guys want to explore the infinite variety of human voices... no wonder
that bauchklang found their admirers mainly in the electronic music scene,
for their style fits perfectly into a club context...
...one struggles to believe that these sounds arise from human bodies!
full version: concerto (german)
IQ magazine/okt.2001
...bauchklang
are a live phenomenon.
fat beats buzz around, multiply, fall deep to multiply again, circle,
bellow... it's hard to express in words what bauchklang do with lips,
teeth and vocal chords. "a-cappella" is no useful term... one could call
the newly created voice power "vocal groove" - no exact description, only
an attempt to find a new definition. amazed and wondering, one tries to
capture the magic of voice and sound during a live performance. piercing
beats toying around the mind and generating a a state of trance, which
forms the body along their rhythm...
standard vienna/nov.7th 2001
bk describe their live performances as extremely intensive experiences. no wonder - a couple of hours of extrem physical strain balanced between concentration and ectasy...
BK
manage to adapt music styles like hip hop, dub and drum &bass and various
fusions thereof with the power of their voices... and that in a unheard
of kinda way. the voice created bass sounds like a hand played quad string,
the voice generated reverb sounds like something outa lee perrys magic
box and the vocal drums like al jackson personally sat in on the gig...
one has to point that out occasionally, otherwise one forgets about BK´s
virtuosity...
progress/university magazine/3/01
...electronic was yesterday...
...bauchklang create new kinds of performance - microphone in hand - attending their concerts provides new listening experiences...
...bauchklang delivers a totally innovative dimension of musical art on their debut album JAMZERO. with a variety from serene downbeat-tracks to driving drum'n'bass pieces, the album shows the broad musical horizon of bauchklang and the permanent extension thereof.
full version: progress (german)
upper austria news/sept.2001
...in art, there is never everything discovered...
...bauchklang have established the human voice as the only perfect universal instrument...
salzkammergut rundschau/aug.2001
...groove of the purest kind...
...almost indescribable sounds and voices, because normal categories of music and song are inappropriate. a live performance crossing all borders. crossovers - world music. standstill, movement, inhaled and spat-out notes suddenly making sense, making images arise - at least for those who know music in its original manifestations...
vienna newspaper/october 13th 2001
...acoustic music can sound electronic... on stage, everything happens live...
...they
are new, original and brilliant - no worry about audience rush. "i think
people are tired of watching two people on stage doing something which
nobody exactly knows what it actually is... now, it's again about quality
and skill. doing something what not everybody is able to. one wants to
see the people on stage sweat again."
for bauchklang, this fits a hundred percent.
full version: wiener zeitung (german)
vienna press/july 2001
bauchklang live at the wuk, 26th of july 01...
sounds, noise produced by lips, tongues, voices, not imitating instruments... are raw material for the mixer and amplifier. extreme rhythms emancipate themselves from the vocal acrobats, cannot be traced back to their origins anymore...
without looking on stage, this music can't be told apart from one electronically generated ...
falter/stadtzeitung
vienna/june 2001
sub, vienna`s only weekly breakbeat-club, which has been delivering a
world-class programm every thursday - for several years now - was literally
run over by the crowd on june 21st `cause of an anticipated show by the
vocal groove project bauchklang...
..dumbsoundedness and awe...highly complex beats and sound structures
were produced without any technical supports...
klagenfurter
magazine/june 2001
absolutely classic...
the vocal-groove-project bauchklang attracted attention with the performance
this evening....
...only with microphones they created beats and sounds like an elektronic-event...
upper
austria news/january 13th 2001
...the whole "posthof" vibrating...
...six people on stage with nothing but microphones deliver a set which
leaves no wish unfulfilled... ...after a while one accepts that there
are no hidden instruments and concludes: they ARE that good !...
zuger
press (CH)
monday/december 4th 2000
...hard beats...audience flattened!
(...) for example bauchklang - austria -
the term "a-cappella" totally revised...
with musical crossovers, hard beatboxsessions
and unbelievable noice creatings
(...) one of the most requested live acts...
tagblatt
st.gallen (CH)
friday, november 3rd 2000-dub-club
...after conquering the vienna club szene, bauchklang spread their vocal groove over europe...
kurier
tyrol
sunday, november 2000-hafen innsbruck
...only by voices and microphones bauchklang create authentic tableaus of sound from electro beat to percussion...
landeshauptstadtfest st.pölten
...begeisterte bauchklang rund 7000 menschen. das programm, das die "local heroes" zum besten gaben, ließ nichts offen...