Stefan Gubatz plays E2-E4 by Manuel Göttsching

Using Arturia Microfreak, Korg Volca Bass, Korg Volca Keys, Korg Volca Sample, Korg Volca Drum, Behringer TD-3, Ableton Live. E2-E4, which Manuel Göttsching recorded back in 1981, has fascinated me for quite a while. I think I first heard the melody in a remix called “Sueno Latino“. When I then learned a few years later that the original is an one hour long, downright meditation around the main motif, with Göttsching playing all synthesizers, drum machines, effects and even guitar, I was sheer thrilled and E2-E4 found its way onto my record player again and again. Then in June 2012, together with my wife and my friend Andreas Gehm, I attended the Göttsching concert in Mönchengladbach, where he performed the piece for only the second time ever in Germany. It was a wonderful evening, many friendly faces, a great open air location and hovering over everything: E2-E4. A very special evening for me, not least because Andreas passed away pretty much exactly four years later. In 2017, I attended another Göttsching concert in Düsseldorf. After the concert, still moved by the well-known hypnotic sequence of notes, I decided that I wanted to play E2-E4 myself. In the following months and even years I experimented a lot with synthesizers of the Korg Volca series, especially to keep the setup as small and simple as possible. However, the low polyphony and the limited sequencer were not enough to play the piece in its entirety on these devices. So the Arturia Microfreak was added, which could reproduce the main theme with its four voices. And since I can play guitar rudimentarily, but my skills would not do the piece justice by far, I did without the guitar track and used a 303 (respectively a clone) instead. The sequencing as well as the effects are done by Ableton Live - I would have liked to do without a computer, but I don’t currently own any hardware that could do the job properly. This recording is a first attempt, a sketch, an interpretation, an improvisation. Still missing: the guitar, which I regret very much. Nevertheless: it was a real pleasure and an interesting experience to play E2-E4 myself, especially because it gave me an even better understanding of the piece. With the biggest respect to Manuel Göttsching – I hope you enjoy my recording.