drums & percussion, August/September 2008

… A thrilling … drum journey has been released: full of captivating moments between meditation, drum'n'bass and scattered, expressively dazzling, dense or floating sound landscapes and rhythmic structures. It is, unquestionably, an interesting and extraordinarily independent piece of work encompassing everything there is to be had in the percussion universe.

off-beat, August/September 2008

The music on this CD is not easy to conceptualize:
Drum improvisations, complex compositions, Zappa-esque sound collages, techno-beats, new music … have I left anything out?
In any case, Haberer has developed a truly individual musical experience, which leaves receptive listeners completely spellbound after listening for some time.
The underlying idea of this production is to unite acoustic percussion with electronic sounds, sequencer and samples.
Haberer is a master in fathoming out the whole range of options which can be produced. Famous drum figures create a thrilling mix with distorted electro, piano and marimba sounds. And Haberer's first rate “conventional” drumming skills should not be overlooked (excellent brush playing).
It is hard to believe that all the titles, without exception, were played without overdubbing.
Most convincing of all is how a drum solo gradually evolves into a carefully thought out composition, despite extended free passages which develop unpredictably, and whose sound and rhythmic character never fail to surprise.
Attention should also be drawn to the careful selection and the excellent recording of the numerous acoustic sound objects.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 19, 2008

Played by hand.
Christoph Haberer, whom the Goethe Institute gladly sends abroad as a German ambassador, has never been one of those many randomly clattering percussionists, as his latest CD “Trommelzeit” vividly demonstrates.
The pieces, which average five minutes in length – no two are similar – get to the point swiftly with clear formal developments. Head over heels in love with sound, they relate adventurous stories full of associations and moods of deep intensity or cheerfulness. In Haberer's enchanted garden of percussive noises and sounds, frenetic rhythmic tangles come into bloom, as do hazy reminders of rock and jazz beats, carefree abandon to the motion of Latin-American dance, ethnic quotations from Africa and Indonesia and sometimes a gnome-like mountain king seems to be dancing through an oversized hall of stalactites.
The CD's subtitle proclaims that it is “played by hand and live”; which means that although the drum pads are either pre-programmed or programmed in real time with a great deal of amazing electronic and sampled acoustic sounds, all the strokes are administered exactly like at a concert.
We do not have to take any drum computer or fussy post-production into consideration in this case, light-of heart we can admire Haberer's astounding and sensitive craftsmanship.

Jazzpodium, June 2008

… Drummer and electronic specialist, Christoph Haberer, presents a collection of his musical experience which is no less exciting.
This time, however, with synthesizer, electronic and acoustic drum sets as well as percussion. Haberer's equipment enables him to extend both the melodic and the rhythmic forms of expression – on the CD in question, "Trommelzeit", Haberer combines electronic drums, floating synthesizer sections, marimbaphone and steel drum sounds with acoustic, poly-rhythmic drumming in an extremely entertaining and exciting way … The result confirms that Christoph Haberer is one of the most creative modern-day percussionists.

CD “Trommelzeit”