Welf & Eiger Coastline Paradox

• Richard Köster (b. 1991):
• 1 Bar? Ok! 05:46
• 2 Die Weiche 06:02
• 3 Das Muss Sein 06:35
• 4 Colonel Grefsen 02:58
• 5 Tannenwald 04:13
• 6 Die Rache 14:45
• 7 Trist Sel 12:31
• Total Runtime 52:50

Info for Welf & Eiger

The length of a coastline cannot be precisely defined. We should all take note of this, please! For this mathematical phenomenon, which is explained with impressive terms such as fractal, infinite dimension and Haußdorff measure, has given its name to a fantastic young band. A band which present their debut album here, Welf & Eiger - the music was rehearsed at Welfenstein Castle in the South Tyrol, and recorded in Bern in the studio of the university at Eigerplatz. The quintet are active in exactly that space between ocean waves and landmass, between sea spray and scree, movement and rigidity, fluid and fixed. This area is all one experimental field. Taking a measuring device yields no conclusion. The more exactly you measure, the larger the result, diverging to infinity. Translated into the music this means, in the words of Richard Köster, the ensemble’s founder, trumpeter and composer: ”The more closely you examine it, the more nuances you can discover.”

Richard Köster, trumpet & flugelhorn
Damian Dalla Torre, tenor saxophone
Felix Römer, piano
Marc Mezgolits, bass
Valentin Duit, drums

Recorded by Lukas Rutzen at HKB Studios, Bern
Mixed & mastered by Martin Ruch at Control Room, Berlin

Coastline Paradox
is a young quintet from Germany, Austria and Italy, founded in 2017 by Richard Köster. The ensemble’s music is inspired and powered by a very particular phenomenon.

The coastline paradox is the name given to the observation that the coastline of a landmass has no clearly definable length. The length instead depends on the method used to measure it. Due to its fractal nature, the length of every coastline diverges in ever-smaller measurements to infinity.

On every coastline, the different and the distant merge into a mixture which can only be found exactly there. The more closely you examine this area, the more wondrous nuances you find. Coastline Paradox’s music moves in exactly this liminal area between different worlds, focusing on a love of detail. It becomes exciting at the point where a musical sea of possibilities meets the culture of the mainland. The point where sand and sun or sea spray and storm are found. A place where sometimes you want to listen quietly, and sometimes you are overwhelmed with wonder.

Booklet for Welf & Eiger