Heikki Ruokangas & Landon George - Live in Berlin July 12, 2023 (Cassette)

DLRBTL012

Landon George says:

Upon finishing a tour in Ireland playing bass with Indigo De Souza, I flew from Dublin to Berlin to spend five days with my friend, Heikki Ruokangas. I flew in with drum sticks, while Heikki flew in from Helsinki, his guitar neck removed from the body. We rented an apartment with a tiny pool near Müggelsee, about an hour outside of the city.

Every morning we took the train into Berlin, listening to the ambience, armed with our film cameras and an appetite for döner kebab. Heikki helped me pick out a suit for my wedding. I taught him some bawdy Appalachian phrases for describing the heat. We played a show, and recorded it too. For me, it was a dream come true to play improvised music in Berlin, and to be there for that purpose alone.

Heikki and I distilled those five days into several improvised compositions, and then into magnetic tape. From the hills of western North Carolina, and from the frozen seaside in Oulu, we found common ground in Berlin. We find common ground when we listen. Lord knows we need common ground more than ever.

Special thanks to Camila Nebbia, Hugo Tromp, and Frei-Raum