Open Your Ears with this 12-Minute EP from TRPTK

Droplets II, Christiaan Richter, TRPTK (2020 DXD) (HERE)

Live from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Hall, it's an ear-opening extravaganza with a single percussionist and his 13" Chinese gong. But what a show! Watch out for the dynamics on this EP. Things start very softly, but progress to shattering volumes in the course of the twelve minutes of this EP. So watch your volume control.

Says TRPTK chief recording engineer Brendon Heinst:

"It's May 27, 2020, and we are in the final days of the first national lockdown in which concert life in the Netherlands has come to a complete standstill. That afternoon, the world-renowned Grote Zaal of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is completely empty—except for one percussionist. At that moment, Konstantyn Napolov performs, on only one minuscule gong (a Chinese opera gong with a diameter of 13", to be precise) that was made in Wuhan, a piece by the Dutch composer Christiaan Richter, titled Droplets II."

I say it's a trip and a half. A ride well worth the nominal charge* to download these twelve minutes of ear orgasm. Enjoy!

The work, Droplets II, is part of composer Christiaan Richter's cycle Droplets, consisting of four pieces for percussion solo, composed in 2017 for percussionist Konstantyn Napolov and premiered by him as part of the Gaudeamus Music Week in Utrecht.

*And with the year end 30% off sale still continuing as of the date of this article, this is a complete no-brainer, my friends.