NSI. | 5863 (Non Standard Productions) – CD
NSI. is the partnership of Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer, and if you know these names, you will know to expect only the unexpected from their collaboration.
On recordings for Cadenza, Sähkö and Freund’s own Non Standard Productions label, they have ranged from convulsive experimentation to ultra-minimal techno, from test-tone fugues to electro-acoustic improvisation involving piano and live electronic processing.
“A decade has passed since Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer aka Non Standard Institute (NSI.) released their enigmatic collection of ‘non-standards’. The new album, entitled 5863, is the result of collecting creative moments over years and stringing together twenty short pieces that jointly amount to almost an hour of playtime.
Meditative, reflective, introspective, but also occasionally exhilarated… All these descriptions come to mind. But there’s more to the story line which emerges in patient increments as the album unfolds. Music comes mostly in the form of sparse but evocative piano improvisations, layering personal expression and subtle references anchored within the depth of the musicians’ experience.”
Dominik Bartmanski (Berlin, February 2018)