Raash ve Ruach Alex Stolze

• Alex Stolze: Tumult:
• 1 Stolze: Tumult 05:06
• White Noise:
• 2 Stolze: White Noise 05:45
• Shaking:
• 3 Stolze: Shaking 07:46
• Earthquake:
• 4 Stolze: Earthquake 03:46
• What's All the Commotion:
• 5 Stolze: What's All the Commotion 04:24
• Breeze:
• 6 Stolze: Breeze 03:25
• Breath:
• 7 Stolze: Breath 03:52
• Scatter:
• 8 Stolze: Scatter 03:00
• Zeitgeist:
• 9 Stolze: Zeitgeist 03:57
• Synchronicity סינכרוניות:
• 10 Stolze: Synchronicity סינכרוניות 04:12
• Total Runtime 45:13

Info for Raash ve Ruach

Raash ve Ruach 'Noise and Wind' is the new album from Alex Stolze, due for release on 25th October 2024 through legendary German contemporary music label Neue Meister. Alex Stolze, born in 1976 in East Berlin, is a Jewish-German musician, techno DJ, and music producer. Also known as a member of German pop band Bodi Bill and previous member of experimental trio Dictaphone, Raash ve Ruach follows Alex's acclaimed 2020 album Kinship Stories.

The album title Raash ve Ruach translates into English from Hebrew as 'Noise and Wind'. "Raash" רעש originally meant a quake or disturbance but today it is mainly used to describe the noise of the city, "Ruach" רוח is an ancient Hebrew word that translates as the cool breeze in the desert, with connotations of meditation and spiritual reflection, the breath of the divine. The album is a platform for Alex's seamlessly weaving of the 4/4 techno of the opening four tracks and the plaintive, downtempo minor key tracks which follow. Also, the pairing of ancient and modern in terms of the track titles is reflected by the Klezmer melodies blending alongside sophisticated electronica and hyper modern production aesthetics.

Drawing on Alex's history DJing in Berlin alongside luminaries such as Ellen Alien, Bpitchcontrol, Jan Blomquist and Modeselektor tracks such as album opener Tumult capture Alex's immaculate skill for interweaving melodies from his Quinton, an unusual five-string violin, with pulsing techno rhythms. Shaking in particular musically captures the chaos and spiritual upheaval that has racked the Middle East this last year. The following pieces are more downbeat and evoke the sadness and grief of this time with haunting violin melodies, chiming pianos and contributions from his drear friends and long-term collaborators the multi-instrumentalist Ben Osborn and cellist Anne Müller.

When asked about the meaning behind the track What's all the commotion?, Alex explains, "I felt a profound sense of disbelief with the 7th October terrorist attack in Israel and subsequent events, I have been lost for words so I have not felt like singing. I implore the world to find its way to a place of spiritual reflection, beyond the divisions of religious and ethnic lines". Album closer Synchronicity סינכרוניות channels all the quiet rage, despair and a glimmer of hope into the gorgeous atmospherics, plaintive violin melodies and a deep sense of hope in the face of catastrophe.

Alex is part of the Solo Collective trio with German cellist Anne Müller (Erased Tapes) and UK pianist Sebastian Reynolds and continues to work with his Nonostar label mate Ben Osborn.

Alex Stolze, violin, quintone, piano, electronics and voice

 Ben Osborn, piano, electronics

 Anne Müller, cello (track 4)

 Yael Gat, trumpet, voice (tracks 2, 5)

 Qrauer, electronics (track 3)

Alex Stolze
The Jewish-German violinist and producer Alex Stolze has earned a strong reputation for his unique music. He switches seamlessly between modern classical instrumentation and sensitive electronica and manages to create a previously unseen sound based on his 5-string violin. Middle Eastern scales create a beguiling soundscape, complex polyrhythms and unusual time signatures become addictive, danceable grooves and rousing songs. Alex Stolze's work with the electronic trio Bodi Bill, the avant-garde band Dictaphone and his work as founder and head of Nonostar Records, on which Anne Müller, Ben Osborn, Qrauer and Field Kit have also already released, also repeatedly attracts international attention. In autumn 2024, his third studio album רעש ו רוח “Raash ve Ruach” will be released on the Neue Meister label.

This album contains no booklet.