Joerg Maria Zeger
born in 1962
received his first guitar lessons at the age of twelve years and collected his early musical experiences in diverse punk and rock bands, followed by a great interest and experiences in free improvised music.
Since 1986 he lives and works in Berlin, during his studies in „Comparing Sciences of Music" prolonged travels throughout south east asia and there field research on the southeast asian music culture, especially the music of the tribes „Batak", „Minanga-bau" and „Nias“ in Sumatra as well as collaboration with native musicians of that region.
Back in Berlin he was part of numerous projects of contemporary experimental music, theatre music and has been touring Europe, Russia, Belarus, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the USA as a solist and a member of Pushkin Boom Beat, a Duo with Mirko Gargioni, Daktari, Gelée Royale and Perlonex.
New Project are „Waschmaschine“ with Oori Shalev, Werner Durand, Zam Johnson, Sebastian Hilken, Mila Morgenstern and „Berlin Electric Guitar Unit“ with Michael Renkel and Tobias Vethake.
He has performed festivals as Rumor 19 Utrecht, Gaudeamus Festival (Amsterdam), Festival fuer Andere Musik (Berlin), Postfuhramt Berlin, Ceterum Censeo Berlin, "Die lange Nacht der Gitarre"/Podewil Berlin, Kryptonale III Berlin, Berlinale/Akademie der Künste Berlin, 2.Erlanger Hörkunstfestival, Skif Festival Berlin and St. Petersburg, Fruits de Mhere, Kill your Timidnotion, Musique Action (Nancy), Z2000 , Springtime Minsk, Bauhaus (Dessau), Maerz Musik (Berlin) and more
He worked with:
Sebastian Hilken, Sakari Luoma, Jim Meneses, Toshi Nakamura, Oleg Matrosov, Charlemagne Palestine, Alex Nowitz, Boris Rayskin, Olaf Rupp, Souleymane Touré, Zam Johnson, Keith Rowe, Mike Cooper and others
Jörg-Maria Zeger’s "Pohon" finds the guitarist tapping out a hypnotic tribal rhythm on his guitar, essentially using his axe as a percussion instrument and making sound like a set of tuned drums. His uncanny method of translating African rhythm to his guitar harks back to the pioneering work of his countryman Manuel Gottsching. Zeger’s closing "I Kut" shifts gears to drone mode, as his guitar becomes a fountain of gently modulating electronic warmth. All of these tracks are excellent ...
Mark Richardson
... È in particolare il berlinese Zeger, chitarrista nel gruppo di improvvisazione elettroacustica Perlonex ed appasionato di musiche del sud-est asiatico, ad impressionare con due lunghe composizioni per sola sei corde, ipnotica reiterazione di patterns minimalisti a un passo dalla tradizione balinese e dal miglior Steve Reich..
Nicola Catalano Rumore issue 132 january 2003
Running prepared guitar through delays, Jörg-Maria Zeger's "Pohon" generates a chugging, sumptuous mini gamelan reminiscent of the underrated Gunter Schickert, where rising thermals of long tones hover over intricate bell like clanging. In true minimalist style, Zeger's gradual shifts in rhythmic emphasis are barely noticeable; they're more felt than heard. Tiny melodies are thrown up, drifting in and out of earshot so you're not quite sure they're there at all. The closing "I Kut" is an austere take on the kind of delay technique favoured by Robert Fripp and others, posessed of a stark, glowing beauty (as much of this valuable recording is). Well worth hunting down for company on long winter nights.
Peter Marsh
