Wesserling

2021, HUIS ~ Soli and Architecture ~

album solo dans l’acoustique d’un chateau d’eau
solo record in the acoustic of a water tower 

violoncello piccolo, préparations
violoncello piccolo, preparations 

enregistré par Christophe Albertijn par en octobre 2021 au château d'eau de Husseren-Wesserling
recorded by Christophe Albertijn in October 2021 at the water tower of Husseren-Wesserling

Conception graphique : Thomas Campaert
Graphic design: Thomas Campaert

“This recording of Stéphane Clor was made in an obsolete water tower on the Wesserling industrial site close to Mulhouse, France in October 2021. Driving from Strasbourg the previous day, Stéphane illustrated the landscape of the Alsace region with stories of his youth and his family’s history in the region’s potash industry (where both his grandfathers worked in a mine), the musical collectives between different cities and the initiatives to revive abandoned industrial sites by local communities.
Amidst all this is his very personal musical emancipation, firstly as a bass and double bass player (you need to start low) and his recent discovery of the violoncello piccolo with it’s smaller scale and 5 strings, which made him find a unique voice as a performer, improviser and composer.
The 52 meter high cylindrical water tower’s inside is completely empty except for a metal staircase that climbs the concrete walls to the top.
Recording a long continuous session the next morning, without any words exchanged (all was said before), the enormous overpowering echo of the tower envelopes us, but despite its impressive force, Clor’s precise manipulation of his instrument is the small movement that sets this sonic machine in motion.”