If there is one thing that has nothing to do with him and his music, it is ‘crossover’ – a word that suggests one thing meets another. With Kai Schumacher, nothing meets nothing, because everything is already there. The more diverse, the more familiar. He plays solo piano – no overdubs, no loops, no drum machine. Everything is out in the open.
As a performer specialising in minimal music and contemporary American piano music, Kai Schumacher has released several albums since 2009 featuring works by, among others, Frederic Rzewski, John Cage, George Crumb and Steve Reich. On his album “Rausch” (2019), the focus was on his own compositions for the first time. For this, he has prepared his instrument using analogue methods and plays with the “unconventional” tones of the piano to engage with acoustic perception. His solo album “Tranceformer” (2023) continues this exploration on a different level – the music remains in a state of constant transformation and develops its temporary form in the subjective ears of the listeners.
In addition, he regularly collaborates on projects with artists from a wide variety of musical backgrounds – including singer-songwriter Gisbert zu Knyphausen, cellist Benedict Kloeckner and, currently, the duo AFAR.