sunday sundaes |cs030

No less than six new releases on the Creative Sources label, placing the label right in the centre of improvised music.
[…] I can be short about the one from Stefan Keune, who plays sopranino and alto saxophone. No doubt he does a fine job playing these instruments [...] Frans de Waard (Vital)

Solowa plyta niemieckiego saksofonisty przynosi trzy kwadranse bezkompromisowej, choc jednoczesnie dosc klasycznej w wyrazie improwizacji. Po wysluchaniu "Sunday Sundaes" jasnym sie staje, dlaczego Keune mial okazje wspólpracowac z wieloma wybitnymi przedstawicielami niemieckiego, brytyjskiego i japonskiego improvu.
Doskonale opanowanie instrumentu, ponadprzecietna umiejetnosc tworzenia niebanalnej formy utworu, zdolnosc ciaglego podtrzymywania zainteresowania sluchacza (niestety przejawiajaca sie w obrebie pojedyczego nagrania) oraz intrygujace brzmienie to niewatpliwe zalety tego muzyka.
Jednak pomimo tego, ze jest jedna z niewielu okazji, by wysluchac dosc rzadko uzywanej odmiany saksofonu, jakim jest sopranino - na którym Keune gra obok altowego - to nalezy przyznac, ze "Sunday Sundaes" jest plyta dosc hermetyczna, adresowana przede wszystkim do milosników tegoz instrumentu. Oszczednie dawkowana moze sprawic sluchaczowi wiele radosci, przyjmowana w calosci lekko nuzy. Tadeusz Kosiek (Gaz-Eta)

It is impossible not to be immediately floored by the technical command and the overwhelming repertoire of special FX that Stefan Keune brings to the table with this collection of scaled-down invitations to solo sax paradise. A captive nightingale undergoing electroshock therapy singing Xenakis ("Reedcycling"), Keune, rips pages from Alfred 23 Harth's book of schizophonics ("Palate", "The mole") and chews them into a pulp of his own in search of sinuous epileptic martyrdom. There is not a single dull moment; with its acute multiphonics, wrinkled harmonics and lyrical monkey business, Sunday Sundaes is in a class of its own among the many marvels of Ernesto Rodrigues' label, revealing Keune as one of the most resourceful loonies on the current scene. Massimo Ricci (Paris Transatlantic)

I'm continually surprised at the rate with which Ernesto Rodrigues releases discs on his superb Creative Sources imprint. As most folks reading this know, the excellent viola/violin/electronics improviser began to document Portuguese and Spanish improvisation several years back and has quickly developed his label into one of the premier outlets for improvisation at the intersection of European free music, electroacoustics, and new music. I recently opened up my mailbox to find a package stuffed with seven of the label's latest goodies. All told, it's a strong batch.
[…] Sunday Sundaes (CS030) is an altogether more declarative and caustic solo reeds performance, by the veteran Stefan Keune (who here plays alto and sopranino saxophones). Covering a lot of bases, these eleven tracks (recorded from August – September 2004) concentrate on the saxophones' harsher properties: squeals, wails, hollers, and blurts. From the opening "Conically Speaking" – where Keune seemingly tries to force as much air through the bell as possible, in almost Gustafsson-like voice – you know you're in a different territory than one usually occupies on a Creative Sources release. "The Mole" and the long "Fric Frac" concentrate on overblowing and split tones almost exclusively; as an essay on harshness, this is pretty effective stuff (particularly the super-intense tracks like "Ambit Gambit"). But it's not really where my ears are these days.
[…] Taken together, this septet of discs is worthy not just for their quality but also for their documentation of this music (and some of its lesser known players). Rodrigues already has a new batch out. In the meantime, however, don't miss out on some of these gems. Jason Bivins (Bagatellen)

[…] De cet état de grâce paysager, les orages des Sunday Sundaes (CS 030) de Stefan Keune, photographiés sur la pochette, nous emportent dans leur bourrasque caractérielle. Celle-ci ne laisse pas deviner la placidité du personnage. Sa maîtrise de l'attaque du sopranino est fascinante, tout comme la logique implacable de ses phrases et du parcours de l'improvisation. […] Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Improjazz)

Niemand hat STEFAN KEUNE Bescheid gegeben. Sein Auftritt im Creative-Sources-Miniaturkosmos mit den Alto- & Sopraninosaxophonsolos Sunday Sundaes (CS 030) wirkt wie eine aurorale explosive Nießattacke, als ob ihm der bisher aufgewirbelte mikrosonische Staub in der Nase gekitzelt hätte. Alle Sounds-of-Silence-Kulturen mit einem Schlag dahin. Keune, 1965 in Oberhausen geboren, Leiter des Ensemble Echtzeit, hat über seinen langjährigen Duopartner John Russell Anschluss an die englische Plinkplonker mit einem Gastspiel beim Freedom-Of-The-City-Festival 2003. Sein Ansatz ist maximalistisch, ein Spitfire virtuoser, wenn nicht expressiver so doch stets vehementer Reedkürzel und Sonographien von Splitterklängen. Zwölf solcher zungenfertiger, feurig flackernder Raps hat er eingespielt, wie ein Vogel, der sein Revier absingt, aufgedreht und manchmal kurz vorm Überschnappen. Beim spitztönigen ‚Reedcycling‘ klirren die letzten Tassen im Schrank, während die Trommelfelle nur noch wimmern. Eine markante Stimme im Improzirkus wie Doneda oder Butcher, Saxplayer, die die kakophonen Kapriolen von Braxton und Evan Parker zu dreifachen Saltos rückwärts steigern, wobei Keune hörbar Spaß dabei hat. (Bad Alchemy)