About

Anchor and Burden - the genre transcending progressive avant-garde doom-jazz post-metal group comes back with their most intense release so far: KOSMONAUTIK PILGRIMAGE.

The album is a bold artistic statement and features the band's unique style of uncompromising instant compositions. The 9 pieces shift seamlessly from atmospheric scifi phases, over cerebral virtuous guitar work to nihilistic bestial carnage that keeps the listener gasping for their breath. Every moment is unique and the collective composition that is happening in the moment is nothing short of miraculous. Anchor and Burden create monolithic architectural behemoths floating in space only to tear them into shreds in the next moment.

Anchor and Burden is the first band featuring two accomplished touch guitar guitarists playing together - Markus Reuter and Alexander Dowerk, shifting and interconnecting between heavy rhythms, deep voluminous bass and searing lead parts. In addition it's also the first time that the multichannel Touch Guitars® S8 instrument has been used extensively. Alexander is playing it throughout this album with each string being recorded and processed separately, which leads him to sound by itself like it was played by multiple musicians. Two touch guitarists are accompanied by the keyboardist Bernhard Wöstheinrich and drummer Asaf Sirkis.

This certainly isn’t easy music to consume at all, but it will satisfy the bold appetite of those who are in love with adventurous music and unrelenting artistic expression.

Line up

Alexander Paul Dowerk

Touch guitar

Alexander Paul Dowerk (born Kaiserslautern, Germany,1983) is a music producer, composer and touchguitarist from Germany. The Berlin-based musician combines the sound and energy of modern, progressive metal with the compositorial depth of contemporary music. The result is a complex and powerful interplay of body and mind.

www.alexanderdowerk.com

Markus Reuter

Touch Guitars and Soundscapes

Markus Reuter (born Lippstadt, Germany, 1972) is a German multi-disciplinary musician, composer, record producer and instrument designer.

Reuter's work as recording artist, solo performer and collaborator spans (and frequently fuses) electrophonic loop music, contemporary classical music, progressive and art rock, industrial music, world jazz, jazz fusion, pop songs and pure improvisation. Over the course of a two-decade career, he has been a member of multiple bands, ensembles and projects (including centrozoon, Stick Men, Tuner, The Crimson ProjeKct and Europa String Choir) as well as a solo artist.

www.markusreuter.com

Bernhard Wöstheinrich

Keyboards and Electronics

Bernhard Wöstheinrich (born Herzebrock, Germany, 1968) is a sound artist, improviser and painter living in Berlin. Bernhard elicits meaning from abstraction in electronic music and painting. He has studied graphic design and has created an an eclectic body of work in both graphics and music.

redundantrocker.com

Asaf Sirkis

drums and percussion

Born in Petah-Tikva, Israel, 1969, Asaf started his professional career as a drummer in the late 80's and played with some of Israel's Jazz luminaries such at Harold Rubin and Alber Beger. A few years after the recording of his first solo album 'One Step Closer' Asaf relocated to the Netherlands, France and finally settled in London around 1999 where he soon became one of the most active Jazz drummers around. Asaf has been leading his own bands and projects such as 'Asaf Sirkis & the Inner Noise' - a band of an unusual line up of church organ, guitar and drum as well as the Asaf Sirkis Trio. He has been touring worldwide and recorded over 100 albums as a sideman, collaborator and as a leader.

www.asafsirkis.com

past members

shawn crowder

drums and percussion

www.shawncrowder.com