A Day – A Beat

Every day I will record one beat, no matter where I am, using the situation each day will bring. Rules: No loops, no effects. Just me, my surroundings, my drum kit and a fieldrecorder allowing overdubs.

«The beat diary is an important body of work. It brings us one step closer to a permanent blurring of distinctions be-tween sound and music, music and art, art and life. A project like this though is worth little if the music isn‘t any good. Luckily, the music is brilliant. inspiring in many ways, the simplicity and humility of the exercise is a call to arms, pulling us further away from the conservative bang of the drum machine.» Matthew Herbert

A beat a day for one entire year: The mission that Bern based drummer and sound forager Julian Sartorius began on 1st of January 2011. The results were released on a daily basis on his blog from January to mid-July – the rest of the year’s beats temporarily remaining undisclosed. The recorded tracks were created without electronic effects, samples or loops: every single hit was actually played, all the sounds are real – only overdubs were used, as Julian has no more than two hands to work with. The Beat Diary is now, for the first time, available in its entirety in an adequate analogue manner: consisting of 365 beats pressed on 12 LPs, accompanied by 365 photos. It’s telling the story of Julian’s year: a year between kitchens, the city of Berlin, mountains, hotel rooms and backstage areas from all over the world. Field recordings subtly woven in unique beat architectures, including light switch snapping, vacuum cleaner rustling, plastic pig squeaking, pianos rattling, electric toothbrush buzzing, musical boxes turning until, at the very end, the new year’s fireworks bang. Thanks to an outrageous inventiveness, the combination of the likes of JDilla, Aphex Twin, the club, the Black Atlantic, sounds from the congotronic and minimal music, the result is a pure delight. These beats will create knots in the brain, being highly encrypted at times, and still will lead to contemplation and make you want to dance. Long story short, these productions expand listening habits without any effort.