Conic Rose: Wedding

On their second album, Wedding, Conic Rose continue to refine and expand their sound, drawing on an eclectic range of influences, including jazz, ambient, cinematic, alternative rock and electronic music. The album is named after Wedding, a vibrant, urban district of Berlin; the local techno scene also plays a part in helping the band move away from conventional genres in favor of a sound more defined by texture, atmosphere and storytelling.

The environment itself plays a central role. As trumpeter Konstantin Döben explains, "The band's studio is located in Wedding. We spend a great deal of time there and experiment a lot in our studio. When you meet regularly in one specific place over the course of a year and make your discoveries there, it's impossible for it not to leave its mark on the music."

With 12 tracks, including some brief interludes, the album was written and produced by Döben, along with Johannes Arzberger, who plays piano and synthesizers, and Bertram Burkert, who plays guitar and bass. They are backed by bassist Franziska Aller and drummers Silvans Strauss and Nicholas Stampf, whose contributions add depth and rhythmic subtlety throughout.

"Less Lonely" captures much of the essence of the band's sound: gentle guitar and breathy flugelhorn motifs cycle through the piece, offset by bass and fast, but muted, beats coming to the fore. Rather than spotlighting extended solos, the focus shifts fluidly between instruments, building a cohesive, collective sound. "Twist" opens with guitar riffs before settling into an urban groove, with melodic flugelhorn lines at its core, supported by bass and dual drummers as electronics and guitar textures ebb and flow around them.

The gently rocking "Too Many Flowers" is one of the album's highlights. Burkert's guitar forms the backbone around which Döben threads expressive lines, before giving way to Arzberger's luminous keyboards. The title track also reaches a high point, its creative rhythms leading to entwined guitar and trumpet melodies. The thoughtful interplay gradually builds, becoming almost anthemic, before slowly fading to a subdued close.

Elsewhere, "Patterns" builds delicate textures, while "Loving Parents" and "Walking Memories" evoke warmth and space through their layered blend of ambient and cinematic approaches. Throughout, the band excels in converging and blurring instrumental roles, creating a shifting palette of mood and tone. Wedding not only refines Conic Rose's distinctive sound but also confirms their position as one of Germany's leading contemporary jazz bands.

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