Hauschka's Salon des Amateurs sees the artist utilising the percussive possibilities of treated piano for his own unique take on minimalist techno and house. Expanded to include drum kit and orchestral instrumentation, the album is a rousing set that draws heavily on the 90’s Cologne electronic scene for inspiration.

Hauschka is the alias of German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann, who currently resides in Düsseldorf. Having studied classical piano for ten years, his work as Hauschka is based upon a playful exploration of the possibilities of the 'prepared' piano - gaffa tape, aluminium foil, bottle tops, ping-pong balls, even vibrators placed across the piano's internal strings and hammers to produce a beautiful, bizarre spectrum of timbres that belies the traditionalist expectations of the instrument.

The results are vivid, unconventional pieces made in a spirit of playful, enthusiastic research.

 Rather than striving for any purist academic perfection, Volker’s playing seems as much informed by modern electronica or Indonesian gamelan as it is by any classical canon. With the aid of his interventions, the piano becomes as much a machine for generating rhythms as it does for melody.

Salon des Amateurs is simultaneously a bold departure and a logical step forward for Hauschka. A unique project that sounds simultaneously organic and mechanised, it is full of carefully-picked references to two very different genres – modern classical and dance music. The album is imbued with a palpable sense of fun and a huge sonic depth, yet it’s instrumentation upholds an astute, sharp elegance.

www.myspace.com/hauschka