For their new album, Concerto Köln have tracked down yet another gem of the Baroque era. Their journey takes us to England, to the composer Charles Avison and his arrangements of Domenico Scarlatti’s harpsichord sonatas, which represents a milestone in British music history – beautifully interpreted here by one of the leading ensembles in the field of historical performance practice. Charles Avison is not exactly that what one would call a “popular composer”. He hardly plays any role whatsoever in the musical scene, the Bielefelder Katalog has documented only a handful of performances of his works and he surfaces rather sporadically within the expanse of musicology. It is basically due to historical performance practice that attention is once again being drawn to his works. And indeed: it is worth it!

California born guitarist Stephan Thelan, the principle composer of the group, is the practitioner of a democratic process of creation and participation. A PhD in mathematics with extensive classical training, Thelan studied with guitarist Robert Fripp. Fripp, one of the most influential artists in progressive music history, and a founding (and ubiquitous) member of King Crimson, had a significant impact on Thelan and the halo effect of King Crimson's shadowy intensity looms large on Black Light.

Guitarist Bernhard Wagner, a software developer as well as musician, combines those skills in evolving repeated melodies and rhythmic patterns. Wagner has worked as a backup act for Nik Bärtsch's Ronin for many years. Bassist Christian Kunter has strong ties to free jazz including having played with two of John Tchicai's groups. Drummer Manuel Pasquinelli has played in numerous regional bands covering an eclectic mix of styles from punk to chamber. The unique sound of SONAR is due, in large part, to the tritone tuning (C / F# / C / F# / C / F#) of the guitars and bass adding a surprisingly pleasant dissonant quality.