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In the red zone
‘Tease’ is the first word that comes to mind when speaking of instrumental jazz by Der Rote Bereich. Come Saturday night at Karachi’s FTC auditorium and the German band’s concert is about to begin. A clutter of drums and tambourines await centre stage beneath the dim glow. Thirty-five minutes later and worth the wait, the trio comprising The Red Zone – the translation of their German name — position themselves: Frank Mobus on guitars, Rudi Mahall on clarinet and a much younger Oliver Bernd Steidle on drums. The performance, arranged by the Goethe-Institut, Karachi, is all acoustic and the audience is beckoned to come closer to the stage.
An illusion of smooth clarinet momentarily hangs in the air, and then the musical discord literally jostles one into a reality check. And that is precisely what defines Der Rote Bereich – literally referring to the red area that indicates distortion on the level metre of recording machines.
The music is as easily ‘jazz’ as jazz can be, but dangles uncannily on the verge of a teasing eccentricity, a humorous intelligence. The originality is incomparable — gently co-ordinated strings on one end are abruptly cut off by sudden, frenzied clarinet bordering on cacophony, making one waltz along from sentiment to sentiment.
But this is not just meaningless chaos. Der Rote Bereich has hidden stories to tell and secret jokes to crack through their chords and discords. Fifty Thousand Small Busy Bodies, Berlin and Different Fruit are some of the tunes they played, all acoustic, all sublime, each one painting a complete picture with a handful of cluttered and yet simple musical strokes.
The trio makes a conscious and tangible effort to create original music, and one can actually discern a certain harmony among all the discord – unanimity connecting the deliberate confusion. Oliver Bernd certainly stole the show with his unusual drumming, including a momentary solo performance using instruments ranging from brush sticks to chimes (and even something that undeniably resembled a tomato), shaking crude rattles and actually throwing mini tambourines to the floor for the final touches.
Witnessing the band performing can best be described as a ‘tickling’ experience. This is music that actually makes you sit up and laugh, and every so often, you find you cannot figure out how to tap your feet to the abrupt switch of beats and moods.
There came a point when the mouthpiece of the clarinet clearly started sputtering, begging to be cleared up. Surprisingly, it was at this point that Rudi Mahall was in complete control, singularly carrying the music around yet another turn and into a different story.
Contemporary music has seldom been justified by musicians as being novel. There has always been scepticism between what is original and what is an ‘inspiration’ from the past. With Der Rote Bereich, however, the music is fresh out of the mill and one of a kind.
It is only after listening to their jazz you realize that guitars can actually be described as ‘bohemian.’ With Frank Mobus playing half the time and fumbling with the sound adjustments in the other half, one couldn’t help but be amazed at how this instrumentalist actually delivered exactly what the band excels in delivering – variety. From co-ordination to sudden confusion, you could never know what they might be expressing the next instant – perhaps a subtle blend of the elements of distortion and harmony, playing upon mischief and romance all at the same time.
The concert was witnessed by surprisingly few people. Frank Mobus, however, found the audience to be “as much involved in spirit as if it were a much larger crowd”. With a promise of free CDs to the eager audience members, the trio’s performance was concluded with cultural gifts of the ajrak. How best to sum up all that is Der Rote Bereich? Eclectic, as some commented. Like a number of little smiles one gets from people everyday — subtle, yet leaving their mark upon your soul.
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