ECM RECORDS Selected Signs III-VIII (Music for ECM - A Cultural Archeology)

In the winter of 2012/13, the Haus der Kunst in Munich - one of Europe's most important museums for contemporary art - hosted the exhibition 'ECM - A Cultural Archaeology'. The goal of curators Okwui Enwezor and Markus Müller was to show the range of the label's artistic endeavours in music, graphic art, and photography and its creative interchanges with film, theatre and literature. For this exhibition, Manfred Eicher and Steve Lake created this six-CD box-set accentuating directions in ECM's rich musical history. Many themes and streams are touched upon here including the range of composition in the New Series, music for and from films, imaginative historical reconstructions, trans-cultural music, ambient minimalism, and jazz and improvisation of many hues, in a collection with a playing time of more than seven hours. Featuring: Heiner Goebbels, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, Gidon Kremer, Keith Jarrett, György Kurtág, Tigran Mansurian, Rosamunde Quartet, Betty Olivero, Kim Kashkashian, Meredith Monk, Giya Kancheli, Keller Quartet, Hilliard Ensemble, Valentin Silvestrov, Eleni Karaindrou, Jan Garbarek, Jon Balke and Amina Alaoui, Rolf Lislevand, Nils Petter Molvær, Eivind Aarset, Stefano Battaglia, Tord Gustavsen, Egberto Gismonti, Norma Winstone, Ralph Alessi, Anja Lechner, Vassilis Tsabropoulos, Colin Vallon, Christian Wallumrød, Tomasz Stanko, Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Evan Parker, Barre Phillips, Robin Williamson, Old & New Dreams, Sinikka Langeland, Frode Haltli, Gary Peacock, Steve Kuhn, Wadada Leo Smith and many others. Review 'Five stars for mostly reissued music might seem generous, but the way this set has been assembled creates transporting new narratives - or meditations - from sequences that were never meant to coexist.' -- The Guardian * * * * * 'For those wondering what the point of record labels might be in the age of the download, ECM, with its pared-down, north European aesthetic is surely answer enough. Since 1969, it has championed the cool and contemplative over the shallow and shrill...an ideal soundtrack for summer.' --The Times * * * * 'Beautiful...Use it to soundtrack your own life.' -- The Independent On Sunday * * * * 'You could spend six very enjoyable evenings playing one disc per night from this set, your own private Late Junction with Eicher as silent disc jockey. That would be time more than well spent.' -- Marlbank * * * * 'A shrewdly compiled trip through ECM's back catalogue, moving seamlessly from classical to jazz to world and folk, and providing not just individual delights but also the joys of juxtaposition...a collection to treasure for the rest of one's life. --The Jazz Breakfast, (Peter Bacon)