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In Trance We Trust

Morpheus Trance | Christy Doran

In Trance We Trust

Price: € 14.95
Format: CD
Label: Double Moon Records
UPC: 0608917145229
Catnr: DMCHR 71452
Release date: 23 August 2024
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Label
Double Moon Records
UPC
0608917145229
Catalogue number
DMCHR 71452
Release date
23 August 2024

"... What's more, the album is one of those lucky cases where the music is triggered by the album title. ..."

Jazzthing, 29-8-2024
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

"There is no boss." Christy Doran places importance on this statement. The guitarist considers Morpheus Trance, the trio with bassist Wolfgang Zwiauer and drummer Lukas Mantel, as a collective. Although the majority of the pieces are based on his compositional ideas, “We look at this together. Everyone should contribute to this. Wolfgang and Lukas have their own ideas." Consequently, the pieces are arranged together and take on a form, which is Morpheus Trance.

Of course, Doran also knows that he is initially taken as the focus. The Swiss, who had come to Switzerland from a coastal town in Ireland as an eleven-year-old boy, recently turned 76. For decades, Christy Doran has been one of the outstanding guitarists of the European jazz/crossover scene; it is no coincidence that the German magazine Jazz Thing included him in the illustrious circle of "European Jazz Legends". He had already made a name for himself internationally in the 1970s. At that time, he was a member of the Swiss collective OM, which was temporarily expanded by the Brazilian percussionist Dom Um Romao. OM was counted among the avant-gardists of European rock jazz. After the dissolution of the group in the early eighties, the adventurous master of strings went his own creative ways. His broad radius included improvisational encounters of various kinds, including lyrical and solo recordings. In the nineties, Doran became the central figure of an extremely successful, wildly expressive Jimi Hendrix homage band, and later he performed in exciting, stylistically daring groups such as New Bag and Sound Fountain just to mention only a few of his numerous stations and projects. Many of them are documented on recordings released by Double Moon and Between The Lines.

Morpheus Trance emerged from a performance of Christy Doran’s Sound Fountain, in which Wolfgang Zwiauer substituted for the group’s regular bassist. This gave Doran the idea to create a permanent trio of a completely different kind with Zwiauer and drummer Lukas Mantel. The bassist was part of Doran’s New Bag years ago, and Mantel is a regular member of Sound Fountain. Both are significantly younger than Doran. Doran, who is constantly curious and searching for creative ideas, stresses that age is not relevant to him: "Only the musical spirit counts. Everyone has his own preferences, no matter how old they are."

The trio format also has something magical for Christy Doran. With Morpheus Trance, this also applies to the musical direction, the musical context. The album title "In Trance We Trust" indicates the program. Doran had come across this formula during a visit to Bali, the Indonesian island in the Indian Ocean. The sentence was emblazoned on a wall. "That struck a chord with me". In a village off the usual tourist paths, he experienced the performance of a wooden gamelan ensemble, followed by a private celebration during which dancing women fell into a trance. Wolfgang Zwiauer brought Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, into play. The musical concept and many of the pieces were worked out during sessions on the Greek island of Paros. Doran had discovered a secluded professional studio there, which the trio booked for several days. "The experience was a flash!" The final recordings for the album were made in Zwiauer's own studio in Bern.

While the compositions that Christy Doran wrote for earlier bands such as New Bag were often complex, this time he deliberately opted for a much more emotional approach. The open experimentation with "devices" in the form of various effect devices resulted in more unconventional sounds and building blocks and increased the richness of colors as a result. Several pieces rely on a repetitive flow. The trance factor is amplified by other subtle factors. Lukas Mantel has recently dealt intensively with Indian music, which had already impressed Christy Doran at the time of OM(!). In addition, the guitarist recently closed a biographical circle to his Irish roots. He discovered his love for uilleann pipes, the traditional Irish bagpipe: a drone instrument. Christy Doran had grown up with their specific sound and old folk songs.
Morpheus Trance has matured into a solid band: a captivating collective with its own unique sound. Concerts are in the planning stage.

„Es gibt keinen Chef.“ Christy Doran ist diese Feststellung wichtig. Der Gitarrist sieht Morpheus Trance, das Trio mit Bassist Wolfgang Zwiauer und Schlagzeuger Lukas Mantel, als Kollektiv. Zwar basiert der größere Teil der Stücke auf kompositorischen Ideen von ihm. „Aber wir schauen uns das zusammen an. Jeder soll sich da einbringen. Wolfgang und Lukas haben ihre eigenen Ideen.“ So werden die Nummern gemeinsam arrangiert und nehmen im Zusammenspiel eine Form an, die Morpheus Trance ist.
Natürlich weiß auch Doran, dass zunächst er in den Fokus genommen wird. Der Schweizer, der einst als elfjähriger Junge aus einem Küstenort in Irland in die Schweiz gekommen war, ist kürzlich 75 geworden. Seit Jahrzehnten zählt Christy Doran zu den herausragenden Gitarristen des europäischen Jazz/Crossover-Geschehens – nicht von ungefähr nahm ihn die deutsche Zeitschrift Jazz Thing in den erlauchten Kreis der „European Jazz Legends“ auf. International hatte er sich bereits in den siebziger Jahren einen Namen gemacht. Damals war er Mitglied des schweizerischen Kollektivs OM, das zeitweise durch den brasilianischen Percussionisten Dom um Romao erweitert wurde. OM gehörten zu den Avantgardisten eines Rockjazz europäischer Prägung. Nach der Auflösung der Gruppe in den frühen achtziger Jahren ging der abenteuerfreudige Saiten-Meister eigene kreative Wege. Sein weiter Radius schloss improvisatorische Begegnungen verschiedenster Art ein, auch mal lyrisch Geprägtes und Solo-Aufnahmen. In den Neunzigern wurde Doran u. a. zur zentralen Figur einer überaus erfolgreichen, wild-expressiven Jimi-Hendrix-Hommage-Band, später betrieb er spannende, stilistisch wagemutige Formationen wie New Bag und Sound Fountain … um nur ein paar seiner zahlreichen Stationen und Projekte anzureißen, von denen viele auf Double Moon- und Between The Lines-Alben dokumentiert sind.
Morpheus Trance entstand aus einem Engagement von Christy Doran’s Sound Fountain, bei dem Wolfgang Zwiauer den Stamm-Bassisten der Gruppe vertrat. Das brachte Doran auf die Idee, mit Zwiauer und Drummer Lukas Mantel ein festes Trio ganz anderer Art anzuzetteln. Der Bassist gehörte schon vor Jahren zu Doran’s New Bag, Mantel ist Stammbesetzung von Sound Fountain. Beide sind deutlich jünger. Doran, unvermindert neugierig und kreativ in Bewegung, betont, dass die Altersfrage für ihn keine Relevanz hat: „Es zählt der musikalische Geist. Jeder bringt eigene Vorlieben mit, egal in welchem Alter.“
Das Trio-Format hat auch für Christy Doran etwas Magisches. Bei Morpheus Trance gilt das auch für die musikalische Stoßrichtung, den musikalischen Kontext. Der Albumtitel „In Trance We Trust“ ist Programm. Auf diese Formel war Doran bei einem Besuch auf Bali gestoßen, der indonesischen Insel im indischen Ozean. Der Satz prangte auf einer Mauer. „Da hat’s bei mir Klick gemacht“. In einem Dorf abseits der üblichen touristischen Pfade erlebte er den Auftritt eines Holz-Gamelan-Ensembles, gefolgt von einer privaten Feier, in deren Verlauf tanzende Frauen in Trance verfielen. Morpheus, den griechischen Gott der Träume, brachte Wolfgang Zwiauer ins Spiel. Ausgearbeitet wurden das musikalische Konzept und viele der Stücke bei Sessions auf der griechischen Insel Paros. Dort hatte Doran ein abgelegenes professionelles Studio entdeckt, in das sich das Trio für mehrere Tage einbuchte. „Die Erfahrung war ein Flash!“. Die endgültigen Aufnahmen für das Album entstanden in Zwiauers eigenem Studio in Bern.
Waren die Kompositionen, die Christy Doran für frühere Bands wie New Bag schrieb, gerne mal komplex strukturiert, setzte er dieses Mal ganz bewußt auf eine deutlich emotionalere Herangehensweise. Das offene Experimentieren mit „Devices“ in Form von diversen Effektgeräten sorgte für unkonventionellere Sounds und Bausteine und erhöhte damit den Farbenreichtum. Mehrere Stücke setzen auf einen repetitiven Fluss. Den Trance-Faktor verstärken andere subtile Faktoren. Lukas Mantel hat sich in jüngerer Zeit intensiv mit indischer Musik befasst, die Christy Doran schon zu Zeiten von OM (!) beeindruckt hatte. Der Gitarrist wiederum schloss jüngst einen biographischen Kreis zu seinen irischen Wurzeln. Er hat seine Liebe für die Uilleann Pipes entdeckt, den traditionellen irischen Dudelsack: ein Drone-Instrument. Mit dem spezifischen Klang und mit alten Folk-Liedern war Christy Doran einst aufgewachsen.
Morpheus Trance ist zu einer festen Band gereift: Ein packendes Kollektiv mit einem völlig eigenen Sound. Konzerte sind in Planung.

Artist(s)

Christy Doran (guitar)

Christy Doran was born in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Lucerne, Switzerland since his childhood. His father was an Irish ballad singer, providing Christy with his first exposure to music.  In the 1970´s he was a founding member (along with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri) of the seminal Swiss band 'OM'. Tours throughout Europe, radio/TV - appearances, workshops, music for ballet, theatre and film. Over the years, his career has included countless solo concerts, in which he regularly pushes to the limits the capabilities of a single guitar. He has played in duos with Marty Ehrlich, Harry Pepl, Fritz Hauser, Dave Doran, Dom Um Romao, John Wolf-Brennan, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, among others. After playing in a trio...
more
Christy Doran was born in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Lucerne, Switzerland since his childhood. His father was an Irish ballad singer, providing Christy with his first exposure to music. In the 1970´s he was a founding member (along with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri) of the seminal Swiss band "OM". Tours throughout Europe, radio/TV - appearances, workshops, music for ballet, theatre and film. Over the years, his career has included countless solo concerts, in which he regularly pushes to the limits the capabilities of a single guitar. He has played in duos with Marty Ehrlich, Harry Pepl, Fritz Hauser, Dave Doran, Dom Um Romao, John Wolf-Brennan, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, among others. After playing in a trio with Jasper van´t Hof, he went on to form the "Christy Doran´s May 84" septet with Norma Winstone, Trilok Gurtu, Urs Leimgruber, Rosko Gee, Dom Um Romao and Dave Doran. He has been a member of the "Peter Warren Quartet" with Victor Lewis and John Surman, and "RED TWIST & TUNED ARROW" with Stephan Wittwer and Fredy Studer (1985 - 1987). Christy Doran was also a co-founder of "Doran/Studer/Burri/Magnenat," (later "Doran/Studer/Gerber/Magnenat") and member of a quartet with Bobby Previte, Mark Helias and Gary Thomas. He played in a trio with Marilyn Mazur and Kim Clarke, as well as with Sibylle Pomorin´s "Augeries of Speed" meeting Terry Jenour, Annie Whitehead, Kim Clarke, Herb Robertson, Kamal Sabir. As a member of Urs Leimgruber´s "Ensemble Bleu" he also played with Francoise Kubler, Louis Sclavis, Hans Koch. Other performances have included work with Carla Bley, Albert Mangelsdorff, Bob Stewart, Edvard Vesala, Charlie Mariano, Manfred Schoof, Iréne Schweizer, Aldo Romano, Piérre Favre, Peter Schärli, Glenn Ferris, Wolfgang Dauner, Fernando Sounders, Heiri Känzig, Julio Barreto, Sonny Sharrock, Jim Meneses, Keven Bruce Harris, Martin Schütz, Daniel Mouton, Ronan Guilfoyle, Marc Peterson, Burhan Oecal, Werner Lüdi, Christoph Baumann, Lars Lindvall, Mark Halbheer, Urs Blöchlinger, Günter Müller, Lauren Newton, Tim Berne, Jim Black, Gunther Schuller, Airto Moreira a.o. He has toured in Europe, North-Africa, India, the Caribic, Mexico, Bolivia, the U.S. and Canada. 1989 began a collaboration with trombonist Ray Anderson, which lead to the trio ANDERSON/BENNINK/DORAN (including drummer Han Bennink), which disbanded 1997. 1993 Christy Doran, together with Fredy Studer started the project "DORAN/STUDER/MINTON/BATES & ALI" play the music of JIMI HENDRIX". 1994 Django Bates was replaced by cellist Tom Cora. 1995/96 the band played in quartet with Phil Minton, Amin Ali, Fredy Studer and Christy Doran. Tours with this band throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the US and Canada. Since 1993 Christy Doran is working with American flutist Robert Dick and English drummer Steve Argüelles as the A.D.D. - Trio. 1994 Fredy Studer and Christy Doran refounded the double-bass - quartet with Jean-François Jenny-Clark (acoustic bass/Paris) and Jamaaladeen Tacuma (electric bass/Philadelphia). 1994 Swedish saxofonist Thomas Jàderlund invited Doran to play in the "Amazing Orchestra" (with Guy Klucevsek, Stein-Erik Tafjord, Svante Henryson, Tomasz Stanko, and Jonny Axelsson). A new collaboration with Albert Mangelsdorff, Bruno Spoerri and Reto Weber started 1997.
Recordings have included those with Hank Roberts, Joe McPhee, Corin Curschellas, Hardy Hepp, Helmut Zerlett, Iréne Lorenz, Boris Salchak, besides several recordings with musicians mentioned above. Christy Doran´s current groups include "Christy Doran´s New Bag" (founded Dec. 97) with vocalist Bruno Amstad, Wolfgang Zwiauer on electric bass, and Fabian Kurattli on drums. the A.D.D. trio, and "Spöerri-Doran-Weber" with Albert Mangelsdorff. Christy Doran also teaches at the "Musikhochschule" of Lucerne/Switzerland.

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Lukas Mantel (drums)

Lukas Mantel (b. 1982) is a drummer and composer from Zurich. Since studying under Pierre Favre, Norbert Pfammatter and Fabian Kuratli at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, he has been exploring classical South Indian music in depth and delving into numerous ethnic music traditions. Today, due to his wide-ranging experience in various musical genres, he is seen as one of the most innovative and independent voices among Swiss drummers. He has been leading his own sextet since 2017 and also works as an arranger and composer for other groups. With great sensitivity and capacity for interaction, he incorporates energy and groove into the music, while texture and timbre are always an important element of his play. Concerts...
more
Lukas Mantel (b. 1982) is a drummer and composer from Zurich. Since studying under Pierre Favre, Norbert Pfammatter and Fabian Kuratli at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, he has been exploring classical South Indian music in depth and delving into numerous ethnic music traditions. Today, due to his wide-ranging experience in various musical genres, he is seen as one of the most innovative and independent voices among Swiss drummers. He has been leading his own sextet since 2017 and also works as an arranger and composer for other groups. With great sensitivity and capacity for interaction, he incorporates energy and groove into the music, while texture and timbre are always an important element of his play. Concerts with the following artists have taken him to Europe, South America, Asia and the Arab region: Pierre Favre & The Drummers, Yves Theiler Trio, Christy Doran's Sound Fountain, Karoliina Kantelinen, tré, Ghost Town, Lucerne Jazz Orchestra, Nat Su, Vincent Membrez, Christoph Stiefel, and Michael Bucher.

less

Composer(s)

Christy Doran (guitar)

Christy Doran was born in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Lucerne, Switzerland since his childhood. His father was an Irish ballad singer, providing Christy with his first exposure to music.  In the 1970´s he was a founding member (along with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri) of the seminal Swiss band 'OM'. Tours throughout Europe, radio/TV - appearances, workshops, music for ballet, theatre and film. Over the years, his career has included countless solo concerts, in which he regularly pushes to the limits the capabilities of a single guitar. He has played in duos with Marty Ehrlich, Harry Pepl, Fritz Hauser, Dave Doran, Dom Um Romao, John Wolf-Brennan, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, among others. After playing in a trio...
more
Christy Doran was born in Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Lucerne, Switzerland since his childhood. His father was an Irish ballad singer, providing Christy with his first exposure to music. In the 1970´s he was a founding member (along with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgruber and Bobby Burri) of the seminal Swiss band "OM". Tours throughout Europe, radio/TV - appearances, workshops, music for ballet, theatre and film. Over the years, his career has included countless solo concerts, in which he regularly pushes to the limits the capabilities of a single guitar. He has played in duos with Marty Ehrlich, Harry Pepl, Fritz Hauser, Dave Doran, Dom Um Romao, John Wolf-Brennan, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, among others. After playing in a trio with Jasper van´t Hof, he went on to form the "Christy Doran´s May 84" septet with Norma Winstone, Trilok Gurtu, Urs Leimgruber, Rosko Gee, Dom Um Romao and Dave Doran. He has been a member of the "Peter Warren Quartet" with Victor Lewis and John Surman, and "RED TWIST & TUNED ARROW" with Stephan Wittwer and Fredy Studer (1985 - 1987). Christy Doran was also a co-founder of "Doran/Studer/Burri/Magnenat," (later "Doran/Studer/Gerber/Magnenat") and member of a quartet with Bobby Previte, Mark Helias and Gary Thomas. He played in a trio with Marilyn Mazur and Kim Clarke, as well as with Sibylle Pomorin´s "Augeries of Speed" meeting Terry Jenour, Annie Whitehead, Kim Clarke, Herb Robertson, Kamal Sabir. As a member of Urs Leimgruber´s "Ensemble Bleu" he also played with Francoise Kubler, Louis Sclavis, Hans Koch. Other performances have included work with Carla Bley, Albert Mangelsdorff, Bob Stewart, Edvard Vesala, Charlie Mariano, Manfred Schoof, Iréne Schweizer, Aldo Romano, Piérre Favre, Peter Schärli, Glenn Ferris, Wolfgang Dauner, Fernando Sounders, Heiri Känzig, Julio Barreto, Sonny Sharrock, Jim Meneses, Keven Bruce Harris, Martin Schütz, Daniel Mouton, Ronan Guilfoyle, Marc Peterson, Burhan Oecal, Werner Lüdi, Christoph Baumann, Lars Lindvall, Mark Halbheer, Urs Blöchlinger, Günter Müller, Lauren Newton, Tim Berne, Jim Black, Gunther Schuller, Airto Moreira a.o. He has toured in Europe, North-Africa, India, the Caribic, Mexico, Bolivia, the U.S. and Canada. 1989 began a collaboration with trombonist Ray Anderson, which lead to the trio ANDERSON/BENNINK/DORAN (including drummer Han Bennink), which disbanded 1997. 1993 Christy Doran, together with Fredy Studer started the project "DORAN/STUDER/MINTON/BATES & ALI" play the music of JIMI HENDRIX". 1994 Django Bates was replaced by cellist Tom Cora. 1995/96 the band played in quartet with Phil Minton, Amin Ali, Fredy Studer and Christy Doran. Tours with this band throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the US and Canada. Since 1993 Christy Doran is working with American flutist Robert Dick and English drummer Steve Argüelles as the A.D.D. - Trio. 1994 Fredy Studer and Christy Doran refounded the double-bass - quartet with Jean-François Jenny-Clark (acoustic bass/Paris) and Jamaaladeen Tacuma (electric bass/Philadelphia). 1994 Swedish saxofonist Thomas Jàderlund invited Doran to play in the "Amazing Orchestra" (with Guy Klucevsek, Stein-Erik Tafjord, Svante Henryson, Tomasz Stanko, and Jonny Axelsson). A new collaboration with Albert Mangelsdorff, Bruno Spoerri and Reto Weber started 1997.
Recordings have included those with Hank Roberts, Joe McPhee, Corin Curschellas, Hardy Hepp, Helmut Zerlett, Iréne Lorenz, Boris Salchak, besides several recordings with musicians mentioned above. Christy Doran´s current groups include "Christy Doran´s New Bag" (founded Dec. 97) with vocalist Bruno Amstad, Wolfgang Zwiauer on electric bass, and Fabian Kurattli on drums. the A.D.D. trio, and "Spöerri-Doran-Weber" with Albert Mangelsdorff. Christy Doran also teaches at the "Musikhochschule" of Lucerne/Switzerland.

less

Lukas Mantel (drums)

Lukas Mantel (b. 1982) is a drummer and composer from Zurich. Since studying under Pierre Favre, Norbert Pfammatter and Fabian Kuratli at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, he has been exploring classical South Indian music in depth and delving into numerous ethnic music traditions. Today, due to his wide-ranging experience in various musical genres, he is seen as one of the most innovative and independent voices among Swiss drummers. He has been leading his own sextet since 2017 and also works as an arranger and composer for other groups. With great sensitivity and capacity for interaction, he incorporates energy and groove into the music, while texture and timbre are always an important element of his play. Concerts...
more
Lukas Mantel (b. 1982) is a drummer and composer from Zurich. Since studying under Pierre Favre, Norbert Pfammatter and Fabian Kuratli at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, he has been exploring classical South Indian music in depth and delving into numerous ethnic music traditions. Today, due to his wide-ranging experience in various musical genres, he is seen as one of the most innovative and independent voices among Swiss drummers. He has been leading his own sextet since 2017 and also works as an arranger and composer for other groups. With great sensitivity and capacity for interaction, he incorporates energy and groove into the music, while texture and timbre are always an important element of his play. Concerts with the following artists have taken him to Europe, South America, Asia and the Arab region: Pierre Favre & The Drummers, Yves Theiler Trio, Christy Doran's Sound Fountain, Karoliina Kantelinen, tré, Ghost Town, Lucerne Jazz Orchestra, Nat Su, Vincent Membrez, Christoph Stiefel, and Michael Bucher.

less

Press

... What's more, the album is one of those lucky cases where the music is triggered by the album title. ...
Jazzthing, 29-8-2024

Powerful, whirling music full of surprises. ...
jazz-fun - album of the week, 27-8-2024

... Jazz and rock, plus psychedelic touches and straightforward rhythms...
NaDann, 21-8-2024

... This is a truly special kind of experience, ...
Musikansich, 18-8-2024

... Has Christy Doran fallen into the magic potion? No. The outstanding Lucerne guitarist, who even at 75 seems fresh and curious, is simply exploring new facets of his energetic playing...
Jazz'n More, 01-7-2024

PdSK nomination 4th quarter 2024
PdSK Grenzgänge, 04-10-2024

... Hendrix-like feedback and droning melodies, Frippian counterpoint and a microtonally wandering vocal line.
Concerto, 01-10-2024

feedback 3641
jazz-fun raffle, 15-9-2024

 
EJM, 01-9-2024

... The listener is treated to a wide range of melodies, where it is impossible to predict what is around the next corner.
InMusic, 01-9-2024

... Those who (on the other hand) love an original, independent sound aesthetic and aesthetic provocation will probably enjoy In Trance We Trust.
Jazzthetik, 28-8-2024

... With the help of various effect devices, wonderful jazz-rock, trance-like and unconventional songs are created.
nrwjazznet, 24-8-2024

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