Aperture by João Orecchia & Sicker Man

João Orecchia and Sicker Man (Tobias Vethake) met in 2003 through a classified ad in a Berlin newspaper and immediately connected through improvisation and analogue electronics, forming a vast and intricate musical communication style. They spent those early days playing clubs and festivals in the Berlin underground, and self releasing a number of improvised “folktronica”recordings.

Their second full length album Pluton/Neptune was released on cassette by Miami-based Other Electricities in 2020. These recordings were a nod back to the early days - ambient noise textures from a wild collection of sound sources - but also hinted at what would come next. By this time, João’s main instrument had become the modular synthesizer and Tobias concentrated further on the instrument that was his entry into the Berlin experimental scene; the electric cello.

Throughout the pandemic, separately from each other, they engaged more and more with artists like Ornette Coleman and Bennie Maupin, which would influence subsequent recording sessions. João also learned the bass clarinet to incorporate along with his modular system and Tobias focused on multiphonic and glitch-orientated effect pedals with the cello. This next step in the duo’s evolution fueled the meetings that yielded Parallax and its expansion, Aperture; conversations between two planets orbiting different galaxies, meeting at intervals to resonate and interchange. Two different points of view which make a unique and precise vision together. 

“The music of the future is already developed, but the minds of the people on earth must be prepared to accept it.” -Sun Ra

“We carry our homes within us which enables us to fly.” -John Cage

Sounds and the like. Est. 2006, in spite of current.

other-electricities.com