Welcome summer!

gterma has returned after an expedition into the River Kwaee valley just in time to hail the appearance of the first warming rays of sunshine here in Scandinavia. Rest assured though, order has been restored and the sun is now veiled again in its usual blanket of cold rain and fog. Instead we choose to celebrate the promise of summer with a pair of new releases.

[gterma026] : Ornah-Mental - Excursions (2013-05-20)

Veteran cosmic travellers Dirk Schlömer and Carsten Agthe look back on journeys past and present, in preparing for the excursions of tomorrow. Music made for drifting out of consciousness into the higher understanding based on enlightenment and revelation. Expect a mix of instrumentation from past and present. Album comes in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.

[gterma030] : Mathias Grassow - Sonnenwende (2013-05-20)

Sonnenwende is the spiritual successor to Dämmerung and follows the sun along her passage through the seasons, the seemingly endless journey between darkness and light. Contemplative ambience, ominous droneworks and some dashes of folk. Double album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.

Four hours until sunrise...

gterma is happy to announce the last titles of 2012, a magnificent four hour crescendo to the activities of 2012. We wish to take this opportunity to thank all the artists, contributors, listeners and supporters around the world who have made this journey so enjoyable.

[gterma023] : Mathias Grassow & Carsten Agthe - Beyond The Silence (out now)

This summer, Mathias and Carsten performed live at the Gut Saunstorf, a retreat in Northern Germany. The concert marked the end of an extended period of silence for the people attending. The recording captures two hours of raw and ritualistic music and also features some new improvisations which were recorded during the night shift at the local hotel. Double album in jewelcase with 16 page booklet.


[gterma024] : As If  - Faraway Trees Standing Still (out now)

Danish musician and artist Kenneth Werner invites us to a journey away from the chaos of today's frenzied cities and into the quiet realm of the distant mountains and serene forests, an escape from ourselves and a home away from home. A vision painted with ambient and dubtechno crayons. Comes in a jewelcase with 16 page booklet.

Report: Mathias Grassow live at Gut Saunstorf, Germany

On Saturday Mathias was to perform at an event held at the Gut Saunstorf, a recently restored mansion in a farmland region of northern Germany. Hidden deep between rolling fields and alleyways surrounded by an army of trees, the Gut is now home to a retreat led by OM C. Parkin. The performance marked the end of a ten day vow of silence on behalf of the guests staying there. During a reconnaissance visit on Friday the arrangements were therefore discussed in hushed and whispering tones. Quite an unusual environment for a performance I gather.

The local weather had been shifting between warm sunshine and chilly rain showers for most of the week. After inspecting various indoor locales Mathias opted to play at a large tent arena erected in the courtyard. The Saturday saw a heavy rain falling just before the concert, which seemed a given signal for all the region's brown snails to come out of the woodworks and invade the arena, there were dozens if not hundreds of them present. It was quite amusing to watch the little creatures slither around on the wooden floor panels.

For this performance Mathias was joined by longtime collaborator Carsten Agthe (the two perform in the bands KarmaCosmic and Nostalgia together with Rüdiger Gleisberg for example) who had brought with him various forms of drums, including a wavedrum as well as a didgeridoo. Mathias mainly used a pair of Roland SP-808 samplers, a Roland Gaia synthesizer, a cd player and a frame drum.

As usual the music of Mathias was semi-improvised in that he worked with certain "basic tracks" and then modified them, adding more layers, patterns, rhythms, voice or drums, all the while accompanied by Carsten's percussion. The performance was mainly based on material from the recent "Wisdom Of Fate" album, which means a very rhythmic approach which was also complemented by subdued drones from "Dämmerung" which is normally a loud and powerful piece.

It was interesting to see the reactions of the audience, most of them being unfamiliar with Mathias' music. At the start there was an uncomfortable twist and turn here and there, though most listeners simply closed their eyes and allowed themselves to be transported far away by the opening drones. During the progression of the concert more and more onlookers began spontaneously rising from their seats and starting to sway to the tune of the rhythm. This also reflected back on Mathias and Carsten and during the second hour they began building a powerful and captivating pulsating rhythm that led more and more people to start dancing in random patterns and stomping their feet to the beat sending vibrations through the floor panels. It was a really magic moment and a new direction for the music of Mathias, something we can hope to see explored further within the Alchemy concept.