Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Awase

Twelve years have passed since Live, the last release by Nik Bärtsch's Ronin. The break was shortened in 2015 with Continuum, recorded by Bärtsch's acoustic project Mobile. "I wanted to give Ronin peace and space to develop further," explains the Swiss composer and pianist. "No pressure and to take all the steps needed before the next album."
Awase, recorded in October 2017 at Studio La Buissonne in the south of France and produced by Manfred Eicher, is a statement of position in two respects: it shows the progress made by one of today's most imaginative bands, but also the current state of "ritual groove music", Nik Bärtsch's universal term for the idiom he invented, which is located on the border between jazz, funk and contemporary composition.
However, rituals always take time, and Ronin had to deal with two personnel changes. In 2011, bassist Thomy Jordi replaced Björn Meyer, and the following year percussionist Andi Pupato left the band, which redefined itself as a quartet - as a new, leaner and therefore more agile collective. Bärtsch speaks of newfound freedom and flexibility in approaching the material, "more transparency, more interaction, more fun at every performance".