UNIFONY II Minco Eggersman, Theodoor Borger & UNIFONY

• 1 Observe 02:31
• 2 Discover 05:54
• 3 Fever 02:21
• 4 Deliverance 03:27
• 5 Drain 04:14
• 6 Dusk 01:27
• 7 Updown 03:38
• 8 Allan 04:17
• 9 Mercy 06:23
• 10 Move 04:12
• 11 Abide 04:40
• Total Runtime 43:04

Info for UNIFONY II

Minco Eggersman and Theodoor Borger started collaborating under the moniker UNIFONY. For this project they invite various guest musicians to find the pure essence of music with them. Together, they wander off the beaten track and rediscover purity by experimenting. They do not compose music based on musical notes but they use carefully crafted layered sounds instead.

UNIFONY II shows us how music can talk to the heart without knowing how this happens. This second album in the series by Minco and Theodoor has come into being during what turned out to be a difficult time for Theodoor. At the end of the period around UNIFONY I Theodoor ended up suffering from a long depression.

The world stopped turning and the sun did no longer rise for the 37-year-old musician and engineer. In these dark times music was one of the powers that kept him going. The friendship with Minco and the free form in which the music of UNIFONY could come to life offered him the room to let go what held him back.

Taking serious the smallest musical ideas by Theodoor and encouragement by Minco gave Theodoor comfort, satisfaction and purpose. Recognizing all of this by Minco, who recorded a similar period on his solo album HAMDEN before, created a deepening of their bond.

Within the UNIFONY-project, collaboration is sought after with one or more musicians every time. This time it is Aaron Parks (piano) and Óskar Gudjónsson (saxophone) who made the songs even more powerful with their inspiring ideas. Óskar’s soft tones Theodoor got to know from the album ‘The Box Tree’ by Skúli Sverrisson and Óskar Gudjónsson in 2013 which has become a classic since. While traveling Iceland Theodoor discovered this special album and thus Óskar ended up on his shortlist for a UNIFONY cooperation. And so it happened.

The piano virtuoso Aaron Parks, famous for his work for Blue Note Records and ECM Records, had been on Minco’s wish list for ages. After listening to UNIFONY I Aaron was immediately interested in working with them. His clear and jazzy way of playing put Eggersman and Borger’s compositions in a different spotlight and his interpretations and harmonies ensured inspiration for all involved. Immediately after Aaron’s European tour Minco and Aaron drove to Theodoor’s studio where an intimate atmosphere arose in a relatively short time, in which Aaron responded to Eggersman and Borger’s rough ideas without any preparation and at the spot. The result was especially good and eventually inspired Óskar Gudjónsson for his part.

This special project started with the collaboration of Theodoor and Minco while working on the album ‘RESERVOIRS’ of the latter. While working together on this album Minco and Theodoor discovered the love they shared for the specific sound and music from the eighties. When James Marsh later discovered this album and Minco wrote a short text for the ‘Spirit of Talk Talk’ book, things came full circle.

The UNIFONY artwork is again by James Marsh, who has become part of this special project. The British designer is not only responsible for all the iconic Talk Talk album covers, but also worked together with artists like Jamiroquai and Gerry Rafferty.

To top it off, the album has been mastered by none other than 11x Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Bob Ludwig. He has worked with artists like Radiohead, Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Madonna and many, many others.

UNIFONY is a tribute to the work ethic of the eighties: being able to spend time in an inspiring studio, using great instruments and recording equipment without constant pressure. Theodoor’s studio was the place for them where these unique UNIFONY songs could grow. This method and quality was recognized and appreciated by others, which led to Aaron, Óskar, James and Bob joining forces. In the end, UNIFONY is the final result of all this talent.

Minco Eggersman
Started out as a drummer in his teenage years but soon began writing songs and producing albums of different bands as well as his own music. He pointed his creative energy towards production, which meant launching and running two record labels for twenty years and brewing artisanale beers. Over the last ten years creating soundtracks to international films and documentaries is what he does most and likes best.

One thing which is always clear in his creative output is the story that needs to be told. Whether it is a beer being brewed or an album to be produced, the story and concept is what makes him tick. As for UNIFONY it was the first time in Minco’s career to start off without demos or songs. This dive into the deep broke new grounds and gave room to a whole lot of discoveries. They went for the motto 'If you want to get somewhere you have never been, you have to do things you have never done before’, so he strayed off course to go somewhere new with UNIFONY together with Theodoor.

Theodoor Borger
While a sound engineer for the largest part of his professional life, he had already started moving back into the creative process. Knobs, microphones and cables no longer attracted him sufficiently and he wanted to get back to where he left his heart long before he started twiddling knobs and faders: making music. For more than fifteen years he had not written any songs or compositions until Minco encouraged him to pick up playing the piano again. Being quite shy about his abilities after all these years he had spent safely behind the mixing desk, Theodoor started out on the path of discovery. He quickly caught on enthusiastically when his first notes became part of a song. Thus he discovered that the lack of (musical) boundaries and the presence of trust and kinship and absence of pressure resulted in a rich harvest during the first recording week.

Mathias Eick
Coming from the country of Norway that is known for its tales and musical improvisation Mathias immediately felt comfortable with the idea Minco told him about in Amsterdam at the North Sea Jazz club on a winter evening. Everything fell into place when he listened to the tracks he got from Minco and Theodoor. Together with musician and studio engineer Marcus Forsgren (who is actually a friend of Minco’s and was signed to one of his labels before), he caught on to the music of UNIFONY and raised the bar again. The melancholic tone and folklore melodies of Mathias Eick proved a perfect fit and this ensures that the ‘musical language’ they ‘speak’ is something special. If you listen carefully, you can actually hear Mathias singing with and through his trumpet.

This album contains no booklet.