PAKT - No Steps Left To Trace is out now in a variety of media: hi-res DL, double CD, and limited edition double vinyl. These are going fast! “ A drug free musical psychedelic trip , fans of Black Midi, Phish and Mr. Bungle might enjoy this…a giant step forward in experimental jazz music”
Produced by Tim Motzer & PAKT. more….

The Eternal, the debut release of improvisational duo Tim Motzer & Gregg Bendian, is the astonishing result of their first collaboration. Blending Motzer’s hypnotic, guitar-driven soundscapes with Bendian’s evocative, spacious tapestry of orchestral percussion, The Eternal traverses dynamic and dramatic landscapes – at times soothing, at other moments haunting and unsettled. These adventurous explorations might sit in the same musical realm as Takemitsu, Feldman, or Stockhausen, or the cinematic atmospheres of Jerry Goldsmith or Bernard Herrmann. Through their profound alchemy, Motzer and Bendian have spontaneously composed music that thrums with a sense of something primordial yet uncaged by time.

Beacon is an extraordinary solo set by Tim Motzer, recorded live at beloved music venue Quinn’s in Beacon, NY, in front of an audience who listened in rapture to this totally improvised 45-minute journey.

Motzer has the innate ability to build captivating harmonic structures that seem to pull mesmerizing moods out of thin air. This set stays focused while untethering the cinematic dreamscapes to drift to where the music suggests it wants to go. Motzer follows this gloriously to the end, live without a net, in reverie. -dh

Tim Motzer - Beacon available here 24bit/48k hi-rez download

David Torn - guitar, 'tronics, live looping
Tim Motzer - acoustic-electric guitars, electronics, looping
Jeremy Carlstedt - drums, turntable, op-1

“Collectively, Torn, Motzer, and Carlstedt create a cinema of the interior in which the attentive listener is enclosed. Narratives twist back in on themselves in an instant, spiking into unseen spaces. Their soundtrack is as loud as mountain thunder, as quick as a precious thought through thin air.
In the flux of their immediate chemistry, they ascend crescendos and dive deep into space, their bright harmonies scurrying towards silence, receding points left to dimly smoulder in the haze, a memory of stars.” Sid Smith
CD/DL: (Blade Of)

Orion Tango featuring Tim Motzer on guitars and electronics, Barry Meehan on bass, and Jeremy Carlstedt on drums release their most powerful album to date: The In Between on 1k Recordings.

“Supergroups are rare in the world of modern guitar music but if any group qualified it would be this one!” Guitar Modern

PAKT is made up of fretless bass guitarist Percy Jones, guitarists Alex Skolnick and Tim Motzer, and drummer Kenny Grohowski. They are all very experienced players. Skolnick is best known as the lead guitarist in the thrash metal band Testament; he went on to freelance work, playing jazz with his Alex Skolnick Trio, and experimenting with World Music. Motzer has a long background in free improvisation as well, including the bands Bandit65 (with fellow guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel) and Orion Tango, plus many other recorded collaborations for his 1k Recordings label. Welsh bassist Jones (long time a New York resident) is known for his tenure in the jazz fusion group Brand X, collaborations with Suzanne Vega, as well as extensive studio work (especially with Brian Eno). Grohowski's recent associations include Imperial Triumphant, John Zorn, Brand X, Felix Pastorius & the Hipster Assassins.

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"PAKT recalls the fearless attitude and daring approach that originally defined progressive music: where the magic of the moment always triumphed over preconception. Templates be damned ... this music blazes its own path! This is truly exquisite fare, serving as a reminder to aficionados of what initially drew them to this most creative, visionary of genres."

At a time when we all took a deep breath and had a good look around – both at our outer and our inner worlds, Tim Motzer met his muse once again. Songs began to ‘drop from the sky’ as he puts it, songs grounded in the healing power of love. Some of the phrases read like mantras, meditations for a complicated time. He was inspired, quite handily, to perform and record all parts of these evolving compositions, including vocals – a first in his career. Mellotron, guitars, bass, prophet synth, optigan, wood flute, cymbals, drums, reed organ, electronics, drum machine, and toy keyboards all flow together in a lush and mysterious way, psychedelic at times, transcendent and futuristic at others.

New Releases from 1k:

Shadow Duo - Swirling, new single! (1k053)

Tim Motzer & Bernhard Wostheinrich - in the blue of a vast boulevard (berlin 2017) (1k052, US edition)

Tim Motzer - Dorset (1k051)

Charlotte Munn-Wood & Tim Motzer - Warp / Weft (1k050)

https://1krecordings.bandcamp.com/music

Grab some popcorn and tune into Markus Reuter's Podcast #17 which offers an inspiring deep dive into Tim Motzer's improvisational wizardry, behind the scenes tour stories, and the inside story on past and upcoming releases.

https://youtu.be/ihbP_Nqz2ZI

Thursday January 14, Tim chats with Bandit65 bandmate & jazz guitar virtuoso Kurt Rosenwinkel about making music in these times, the power of music, improvisation, Bandit65, and more. Watch at 12 Noon EST, 6pm Berlin time. Check your time zones. Watch at Instagram.com/timmotzer

Tim Motzer’s live chats kicked off with EP1 last November with drummer, and long-time musical colleague Gintas Janusonis on the eve of their streaming concert with Vernon Reid; EP2 visits Cincinnati guitarist, singer songwriter Rob Fetters who recently released his album Ship Shake; EP3 featured guitarist/ sonic alchemist David Torn in an inspiring chat about improvisation, and his early influences. Episodes 1-3 can be found at Tim’s IGTV.