Marc Sinan & Oğuz Büyükberber - White (2018) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Guitarist Marc Sinans third ECM release is an evocative duo album with clarinettist Oguz Buyukberber which subtly covers a lot of ground. The pair have worked together in many contexts since first meeting in Istanbul a decade ago, and Buyukberber previously appeared on Hasretim: Journey to Anatolia, released in 2013, as well as in Sinans music-theatre piece Komitas.

The individual musical directions of the two players have effectively converged from opposite poles: Marc was trained as a classical guitarist in the western European tradition but has increasingly been drawn to improvisation and Turkish material, while Oguz started out with Turkish music and jazz before exploring free improvisation and contemporary composition.

For White, both musicians provide new music. Sinans five-part Upon Nothingness incorporates his musical response to recordings of songs of Armenian prisoners deported to Germany during the First World War. These historic field recordings are woven into the fabric of Sinans pieces, which also make liberal use of electronics, blurring the distinction between the real and the surreal. Oguz Buyukberber also contributes a series of linked pieces, There, I-V, in which both musicians improvise around predetermined pitch sets. White was recorded in Oslos Rainbow Studio in October 2016 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Tracklist:
01. Upon Nothingness, Yellow
02. There I
03. Upon Nothingness, Blue
04. There II
05. Upon Nothingness, Green
06. There III
07. There IV
08. There V
09. Upon Nothingness, White
10. Upon Nothingness, Red

Personnel:
Marc Sinan (guitar)
Oguz Buyukberger (clarinet)