Evocations By John von Seggern, Ambient Soundscapes For Chapman Stick Out Today
Celebrated for his Ambient Bass Guitar album and his pivotal work on legendary ambient musician Jon Hassell's critically acclaimed albumsSeeing Through Sound and Listening to Pictures (which The Guardian lauded as a top release of 2018), John von Seggern continues his ambient explorations with his Evocations EP, out today on all platforms.
Evocations features four connected ambient soundscapes performed on the Chapman Stick, an instrument renowned for its expansive tonal range and expressive capabilities. The EP is a natural progression from von Seggern's previous work, Ambient Bass Guitar, continuing to explore the atmospheric depths and soundscapes heard on the earlier album.
The Stick is best known in progressive rock and jazz, but John von uses the effects processing system from Ambient Bass Guitar and his work with Hassell to create unique ambient textures and sounds. The music in Evocations was created using a further iteration of the effects setup he originally designed for Hassell’s trumpet.
Evocations invites listeners to a journey through ethereal soundscapes and haunting melodies, a journey that redefines the ambient genre. It's an album that speaks to the soul, inviting exploration beyond the conscious mind. Recorded in a single late-night session, each track is a testament to the magic of the moment.
John first began playing the Stick during his years of touring with Chinese pop stars – interpreting pop songs on the complex instrument brought a refreshing challenge to the routine of constant travel and repetitive setlists.
After the enthusiastic reception for Ambient Bass Guitar (Bass Magazine called him a “virtuosic bassist, electronic music producer, sonic alchemist,” Jazz Weekly headlined their review “If Eno Played Bass,” All About Jazz called it “at once mesmerizing and enlivening” and “altogether transportive”), he found himself drawn to using the Stick again to extend the range of his improvisations beyond bass into higher registers and chords.
The EP has four tracks:
1 - Prelude
2 - Evocation I
3 - Evocation II
4 - Rest
Special thanks to Dean DeBenedictis, whose simple yet profound question at a recent recording session – 'What's in that bag over there?' – reignited John von Seggern's passion for the Chapman Stick. (An album of ambient collaborations with Dean is set to release in 2024.)
