Post-war musical history was written in Germany with the MPS label: fine music productions with many international greats come from the Black Forest. The HGBSBlue label from Villingen, Germany follows in this tradition with new and archive recordings on high-quality vinyl, some from the MPS archive.
What are these sounds? They are idiosyncratic, almost addictive. They are stirring, wistful and don’t fit into any of the usual categories: Georgian polyphony mixed with minimal music, a pinch of jazz and sparkling electro pop.
This music knows no boundaries. Is there anything comparable? Hardly. Björk, perhaps. It’s about Russudan Meipariani, a pianist, composer and singer from Tbilisi who has lived in Stuttgart for a good 20 years. Together with her sister Natalie and brother-in-law Giga, they form the Russudan Meipariani Ensemble and play beyond the usual musical boundaries. This is reflected in the title of their new project: "Beyond The Boarders", which will be released as a vinyl record on the Black Forest label HGBSBlue in October.
Composer Russudan Meipariani, who comes from a family of musicians, is naturally drawn to the polyphony of her native Georgia. In the 1990s, she played together with her sister Natalia (violin) and brother-in-law Giga (cello) as a classical trio before moving to Germany. Here they first continued their music education and then went on to work as musicians. Russudan was even a student of the iconic composer Wolfgang Rihm (1952-2024).
The new album by the Russudan Meipariani Ensemble is a musical reflection on origins and homeland, music about longing and memory. The trio brings worlds together and creates a unique sound space at the interface of classical music, jazz, Georgian polyphony, postminimalism and improvisation.
The music is full of sentimentality and expansiveness, then again rousing or wistful. Many unusual facets emerge, but never boredom. This music of theirs is full of narrative power and an evocative poetry. You don"t want to stop listening to it, writes Julia Neupert, editor for jazz and new music at SWR in Stuttgart, who wrote the liner notes for this LP. An unusual listening experience!
