Ronin’s music has a propulsive volatility that’s forever galloping forward as their polyrhythmic jigsaw comes together.

 

– BBC

Prepare to embark on a breath-taking cinematic odyssey through the visionary musical landscape of ECM artist Nik Bärtsch, the Swiss pianist, composer and band leader internationally renowned for his genre-defying musical compositions.

Featuring a compelling combination of live performance, beautiful imagery, revealing interviews and stunning computer graphics, Ingredients for Disaster takes music fans on captivating journey that vividly brings to life the intricate complexities of Bärtsch’s music.

Ingredients for Disaster traces how the pioneers of minimalism, serialism and avant-garde broke down the doors of musical conventions to give modern composers greater musical freedom and how composers like Nik Bärtsch have taken these musical cues and other influences to create new sounds drawing inspiration as diverse as The Meters, John Cage, Lennie Tristano and Igor Stravinsky. From this strange sonic brew, Bärtsch has crafted a unique musical blend that defies categorisation.

His band, Ronin, are the master craftsman who help create his 3-dimensional musical worlds, weaving together layers of rhythm, melody, and texture into a trancey sonic experience.

We follow Bärtsch as he travels to the UK’s premiere arts venue, The Barbican to perform his solo audio-visual piece When The Clouds Clear and with his band, as they play at the UK’s leading techno festival in Houghton Cambridgeshire in 2023. We see him perform at New York’s Lincoln Center and recording with legendary ECM founder and producer Manfred Eicher.

The documentary deploys music critics, respected modernist musicians and even an Oxford professor of mathematics to unpick his musical method.

And, to help visualise the polymetric universe that Bärtsch and his band inhabit, some of the world’s best computer animators have created fantastic, animated worlds which describe all the musical intricacies in the most hypnotic and spellbinding way. All in all, offering a rare glimpse into another frontier of the musical universe.

While pop icons like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish may dominate the global music scene, Bärtsch stands as a beacon of innovation, pushing the boundaries of musical expression with fearless experimentation and unwavering dedication, recently finding new audiences with fans of Techno and EDM.

Ingredients for Disaster is a transformative cinematic experience, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in the spellbinding world of one of contemporary music’s most visionary talents. Prepare to be inspired, challenged and moved as the film takes you on a journey through the limitless possibilities of sound and rhythm and unflinching creative endeavour.

About Nik Bärtsch:

Hailing from Zurich, pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch’s musical journey began with childhood piano and percussion lessons. This early training paved the way for his collegiate-level music studies, while he also embraced experimentation and exploration by freelancing in a wide array of bands, “playing everything from fusion to freefunk, and all kinds of extroverted jazz”. Bärtsch founded his zen-funk quartet RONIN in 2001 and now the band comprises Bärtsch on piano, Kaspar Rast on drums, Jeremias Keller on bass, and Sha on bass/contrabass clarinet. Bartsch and his band tour relentlessly. Their most recent album, Awase, was released in 2017. They are recording a new album in the autumn of 2024.