Julian Sartorius climbs to the heights: in his new “Hidden Tracks” album, the drummer takes the route that leads from the Italian town of Domodossola (272m above sea level) to the peak of Weissmies (4017m above sea level) in the Valais, in Switzerland, stretching over an altitude difference of 3745 metres.

The much sought-after musician makes this journey upwards tangible with sounds and tones that he found on this route across the town, along villages and in nature using his drumsticks – and his recording device.

We hear how he travels this path from the lowest to the highest point: “In Domodossola I could play on everything with my drumsticks – street lamps, electricity boxes, traffic signs,” states Sartorius, who, in addition to his sensational solo projects (“Beat Diary”), has collaborated with artists as diverse as Sophie Hunger, Matthew Herbert and Colin Vallon. The sounds transform as Sartorius climbs higher and higher: Not only do the sounds of the town and the villages disappear, but nature also changes and becomes increasingly barren. We hear, for example, how Sartorius walks through the forest and plays on its surfaces with his drumsticks, and thus we also hear when the tree line is reached. And we hear how Julian Sartorius walks through the stone deserts and the snow to finally reach the summit of the Weissmies.

The hike from Domodossola to the Weissmies is the vertical continuation of his first “Hidden Tracks” album, in which Sartorius covered the route between Basel and Geneva in various stages with his recording equipment and drumsticks. “Hidden Tracks: Domodossola – Weissmies” is the condensed document of this trek upwards.

The 35-minute long sound journey, sequenced with rhythmical precision, brings our landscape, the worlds of our existence and our nature to life in an unheard-of way.

© & Ⓟ by Julian Sartorius & Everest Records, 2024