Loading details…
Artist
Michael Hoppe
12+ albums
new ageinstrumentalambientpianoClassical
about
There are two artists with the name of Michael Hoppe: (1) Michael Hoppé is a composer, producer and recording artist from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who was for many years head of A&R for the PolyGram record label. He signed new age acts such as Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre to the label. Michael Hoppé's album, Solace, was nominated for a New Age Grammy in 2003. (2) If you look up Michael Hoppe via a German internet connection, the first three hits are a hypnosis therapist, an astro photographer and a grammy nominated New Age composer. But the Michael Hoppe in question is not concerned with relaxation and space escapism. Over the course of three years he visited about fifty friends and colleagues -spanning from an amateur choir to a kora player to various jazz drummers - to record them individually for his debut album. While editing each track hour after hour he continuously adjusted his ideas with a view to the next recording session. Having played a lot of free jazz and having written some contemporary chamber music, Michael Hoppe adopted ideas on how to handle rhythm by creating an energy flow without a regular pulse. Yet there is system to the album's tracks: one recording is always the point of reference around which all other sounds are meticulously arranged. The result is an album that feels electronic - sometimes a reminder of instrumental hip hop, sometimes of kraut rock. But its irregularity and maximalist approach makes it feel o
