2005/09/18
Embryo - the legend continues!
The great saga of Embryo, born in 1969, when the Moon began to be “full of flags without wind” (thank you, maestro Endrigo), continues under the sign of the creative freedom that distinguishes the project founded and led with class by Christian Burchard, fabulous player of marimba and hackbrett, a kind of German wooden dulcimer. And with the “open band,” the other night, inside the packed Caffè Vittoria (Corte Bratina unusable due to rain), more than two hours of great emotions. The masters of ceremony of an ever-present legend are many, besides Christian: first and foremost, the “lucidly insane”, a la Frank Zappa, vocalist Mik Quantius, 37-year-old genius who offered visceral and futuristic sounds, whistling on high pitches and babbling, vaguely reminiscent more of Tim Buckley, Captain Beefheart and certain punk masters than Demetrio Stratos, of whom he is an admirer, as of the Melvins, Sonic Youth and other alternative rock legends. But equally effective are Lothar Stahl on marimba and drums, Catalan David Drudis on bass and oud, great effectiveness also for young Austrian Valentin Altenberger on electric guitar, bass and darbouka, and elegant Haro Dehnke on tuba bass and magical clarinet. Two sets, very different from each other: in the first Embryo paint pastel almost completely improvised pictures played on refined polyrhythms, evoking oriental atmospheres, baggage of the group since the 70s with numerous trips (even a 9-month tour) to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, where Embryo played with local musicians. The second set, on the other hand, under the banner of creative rock-jazz with guitar, electric piano and bass supporting Christian's admirable marimba playing and Quantius' rugged, rarefied, never before heard vocals. Applause galore from a young audience also following the progressive scene and from those who were there in March '76 in Udine for the group's concert with guest Massimo Urbani. How many records have Embryo made? Perhaps not even Burchard knows: between official and semi-official recordings by the group there will be 50, maybe even more, all fascinating and different from each other. In an age where much is tied to tried-and-true and stale standards, Embryo are a constant innovation, in the sign of direct communication and endless curiosity that leads them to create music without boundaries. They will be back soon: maybe!
Messagero Veneto, 2005/09/22
(Translated from: https://web.archive.org/web/20060903230701/http://www.embryo.de/i_mela.htm)