Hauschka released an LP, touring North America (dates, video)

Listening to a piece by Hauschka can be deceiving: What sounds like an ensemble of musicians and instruments is just one man, performing at one piano. His real name is Volker Bertelmann, and he hails from Dusseldorf, Germany, where he works with his “prepared piano.” He wrests disruptive sounds from the instrument’s 88 keys by outfitting the strings or mallets with objects such as ping-pong balls, aluminum foil and leather.

[…] “They create a whole carpet of sounds underneath the tones that the hammers create,” Hauschka tells Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz. “What I like about it is that there is something going on without my control.” [NPR]

German pianist/composer Hauschka released his newest album, Abandoned City, earlier this year via Temporary Residence Ltd./City Slang, and tonight (4/18) he begins his North American tour in support of it. Hauschka’s roots are in techno, but for this project he utilizes prepared pianos, a concept made famous by John Cage and others, though Hauschka claims he wasn’t familiar with Cage when he first came up with the idea to do so. (As Sonic Youth fans may know, it’s also something you can do with a guitar.)

Hauschka and his prepared piano will hit NYC on this tour on April 25 at Joe’s Pub, and after a European run, he’ll return for another show on May 27 at Glasslands. The Joe’s Pub show is sold out, but tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now.

All dates are listed, with a video of “Elizabeth Bay” from the new album and a stream of another LP track, below…

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Hauschka – “Elizabeth Bay”

Hauschka – “Agdam”

Hauschka — 2014 Tour Dates
Apr 18 Belmont Austin, TX
Apr 20 Yoshi’s San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Apr 22 KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic Los Angeles, CA
Apr 22 Masonic Lodge (Presented by 89.9 KCRW) Los Angeles, CA
Apr 23 The Loft at UCSD (Presented by Artpower!) San Diego, CA
Apr 24 Boulder Theater Boulder, CO
Apr 25 Joe’s Pub New York, NY
Apr 26 Cafe 939 Boston, MA
Apr 27 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA
Apr 28 La Sala Rossa Montreal, Canada
May 10 Howard Assembly Room @ Leeds Grand Theatre Leeds, United Kingdom
May 13 Brighton Festival Brighton, United Kingdom
May 14 South Street Arts Reading, United Kingdom
May 15 The Lantern Bristol, United Kingdom
May 16 Anthony Burgess Foundation Manchester, United Kingdom
May 22 Zedno Uho Zagreb, Croatia
May 24 Cactus Club Brugge, Belgium
May 25 Schumann Festival Dusseldorf, Germany
May 27 Glasslands Brooklyn, NY
May 29 Millenium Park Chicago, IL