Marcus Sukiennik ‘The C Chronicles’
Setting the scene during the global pandemic, The C Chronicles, written by pianist and composer Marcus Sukiennik, finds its plotline splitting into a fascinating thread of two, with one being the euphoric, soulfully jazzy “C Chron” that chronicles the happening, while the Neo-classical, orchestrated pieces in between capture different themes in snapshots. It seems that the storytelling here is both linear and non-linear, but one thing we can all agree on is finding ourselves helplessly immersed in and awed by the music while echoing the emotions and drastic feelings that Sukiennik addresses in his music.
“C Chron | Little Things” introduces listeners to a charming, euphoric lounge atmosphere filled with nostalgia. As the narrative talks about the little things we miss that used to escape our eyes, the syncopated, mesmerizing groove has a subtle touch of melancholia in its celebration of the wonderful things we used to have, without realizing, the same melodic theme then becomes fiery and striking when the narrative talks about depression. Then it comes back as nostalgic and uplifting when the narrative shifts to resilience. There are different colors and moods embedded into the same music notes, depending on the intention of how it’s articulated and expressed. Just like the way with language. With just a shift of perspective, something familiar can feel so drastically different. Sukiennik certainly did a brilliant job as he masterfully interpreted the idea of perception. As brief as this introduction is, it’s an eclectic piece of music.
The other “C Chron” pieces all echo the thematic embrace of the first. Euphoric and commercial sounding. It’s interesting to think about the way they, directly and indirectly, response to the album’s theme, being the pandemic. Unlike the Neo-classical pieces that feel more revealing and emotionally vulnerable, the “C Chron” pieces all share the uplifting elements of fun and playfulness. With “A Gig,” there’s the element of thrill and excitement being sonically carried out. And “Fading,” which talks about losing a sense of identity living in a “caged” world of endless repetition, it’s abstract and vibrant—bluesy, soulful and full of a jazzy sense of humor. “A Gig” gives a little “letting the beast of the cage” vibe with a fierce and sassy trumpet solo that soars through the roof. One can’t help but feel there’s another layer to the “C Chron” songs, one that goes beyond the lyrics.
The Neo-classical thread begins with the three-course “Das Unwohlsein abschmecken (Tasting the malaise)” with a starter, a main course and a dessert. The starter opens with celestial vocals and poignant piano, ending on a cliffhanger of a lingering note. Into “Hauptgang,” the main course, it’s more urgent and hungry, like a storm with its drastic intensity. It bounces back and forth between an even darker passage of atmospheric ambiance and the main theme, and then in “Dessert,” you hear a jarring contrast in register and timber. It resolves in dissonance with a graceful haunting color that hovers and lingers. It’s truly magnificent how one melodic idea can evolve in such a textural manner.
The five-episode “Kurze Weil” evokes a blossoming, spring-like feeling with beautiful strings and articulated pianos. It evolves to be more passionate and glorious before a modal change stirs it into dark melancholia and critical moments as if the protagonist is facing a more-than-ever challenge, reminding you of the final plots of thrillers such as Inception. “Kurze Weil” is cinematic in nature. Like the soundtracks of a movie, every episode seems to focus on a particular mood and scene as it expresses itself in full.
The six-part “Sich seines Selbst vergewissern (Make sure of yourself)” then tunes into the emotional and introspective spaces. Thoughts and feelings are intertwined in the music. It’s simply hard not to drift away along with the music and think about your own troubles, small or big. Like a therapy session, filled with confession and truth. Part 1 highlights the storm of emotions. Part 2 introduces a slight horror when something is discovered. Then there’s the feeling of seriousness, a realization, almost nightmarish. But in Part 3, this realization becomes something good. You realize the burden you’ve been carrying, and now that you face it, you can finally let it go. Part 4 is that moment of elegance and peace, looking back at the past. And in Part 5, this is manifested as a tearful, rewarding moment, before Part 6 sees the regeneration of energy and happiness in the bittersweet feeling of an ending.
“Seelenstreichler (Soul Stoker)” is about self-love and loving the wonderful things in life again. The track unravels in a swirling awakening of magic as it flows with tenders and surprises. The four-fantasy piece addresses the discovery of magical things in different places. Unlike the horizontal shifts in previous pieces, it feels vertical this time.
Coming around for the last time, “C Chron | Empathy, Reliance and Believe” then concludes the album, ending on a hopeful, wholesome note.
Read our interview with Sukiennik and hear the creative sparks behind his very inspired album The C Chronicles.
Punk Head: I love how cinematic and rich storytelling The C Chronicles are throughout. How does this project reflect on the pandemic sonically? Can you tell us more about it?
Marcus Sukiennik: The C Chronicles consists of two parts. There is the studio band playing jazzy, Neo-soul-like music. These four songs start with the title “C Chron.” They describe through lyrics and spoken text what happened during the pandemic.
“C Chron - Little Things” is about the things we deemed insignificant before, but dearly missed during the pandemic - like small talk. “C Chron - Fading” relates to waiting for something to happen while feeling like you're disappearing. “C Chron - A Gig” is a humorous song dealing with finally having a job and being excited. Of course, the gig is suddenly canceled (again). “C Chron - Empathy, Reliance And Believe” gives us a perspective on what we need to overcome the crisis and what will solve a bunch of problems that humanity has created. So the C Chron songs are more about storytelling.
The neoclassical compositions are instrumental and sonically describe the phases we went through - which is what you asked for in the first place.
Das Unwohlsein abschmecken (Tasting the malaise)—a threefold variation—lets us relive the feeling we had at the beginning of the pandemic. That would be the many deaths or the strange feeling of being in one room with a lot of people. Don’t expect a happy melody. For this arrangement only, I used a choir on top of the strings and piano.
“Kurze Weile (Short while in the meaning of entertaining, amusing)” written in 5 episodes, is about the next phase—watching Netflix on the couch ;-)—the sound mostly is easy going or like movie music, for example, variation 4.
“Sich seines Selbst vergewissern (Make sure of yourself)” reflects on the time we've spent thinking about who we are and what we're going to do, or whether we need to change something in our lives. It is the most meditative and introverted composition of this album, especially the first variation out of six. The music opens up in variations 5 and 6 - as if finding a new perspective.
“Seelenstreichler (Soul Stoker)” is about treating ourselves to something that does us good. Which we really needed after such a long dry spell. This is sonically the happy place and maybe and hopefully you’ll say—wow, that’s wonderful.
The two parts of musical styles are interweaved. The album starts and ends with a C Chron song and in the middle, there are 2 C Chron tracks. In fact, the album is sorted like for a concert. After the 2nd C Chron title would be the break in a concert. So each set is framed with a C Chron title at the start and end.
PH: The thematic developments and variations are particularly interesting in this album. Can you tell us more about the creative process?
Sukiennik: The choice of compositions for the album came naturally. All pieces have as their starting point piano improvisations. And I tried to keep this loose approach to a certain extent, to create more liveliness and unpredictability. Essentially, a strict, conceptual plan—the track selection and order for the album—meets a playful execution, the actual music.
The C Chron pieces are new and composed for this album. They are songs with an intro, verse and chorus. I added the lyrics and spoken text after the music was finished. It's a melange of soulful, jazzy and bluesy basics with neo-soul harmonies like in the intro of “C Chron - Fading.” These kinds of harmonies leave the standard harmonic theory behind and create new, interesting connections, for example in the form of chord shiftings. Which also results in new melodic ideas.
Cher-Ginger was enthusiastic and asked me how I came up with the melody. In the piece in question, however, I designed the harmony and melody at the same time. This actually makes sense, since they affect each other.
The Neo-classical pieces were already composed for piano solos. I just had to arrange them for strings and piano.
When I moved to Cologne in the 90s, I met Dr. Eckard Wilkens, who is an impressive personality and gifted as a classical pianist and composer, painter and writer. He became my mentor for music and life.
I have an image in my mind. We were sitting in his living room and he showed me a book with pictures. Around these pictures, he drew frames. And suddenly the same picture got a new perspective and a new, fresh look. That impressed me very much. Figuratively, I did this process with my neoclassical compositions for piano solos. The frame is the added string quartet. I didn't change the piano part at all.
The arrangements came about without much thought. After breakfast, I just went down to my studio and tried out melodies and sounds. Every day a new, fresh start.
Apart from one exception, I progressed quickly and liked what I was doing. One arrangement left me dissatisfied. The first version set with triads was too sweet for me, too much sugar, so to speak. In the second version, I set the whole thing in pentatonic. Again not, this time too sterile and predictable. The solution was a pentatonic-oriented but flexible approach. It finally sounded the way I had in mind.
Dr. Eckart Wilkens was the one who introduced me to compositions in the form of variations. I developed my own technique of how to use variation works. For me, it's an opportunity to create both concert music and background music. For a concert, just play the whole composition with all variations. For background music just mix them up. Play a variation from one and simply move on to another composition.
PH: Are there any challenges you faced in producing this album?
Sukiennik: Yes. At first, the project was meant as a concert. There was funding from the state to bring a concert project to the stage. But the conditions were so restrictive that I had to call it off. I wasted a lot of time in the process. On the bright side, I chose musicians for the studio project that I really wanted. And their enthusiasm really touched me. My goal remains to bring music to the stage.
Another misfortune was the Corona infection by a musician's wife. Instead of recording bass and drums together, we had to record them separately. I even had to find a new bass player due to scheduling. Luckily André Nendza helped me out. The organization is always a challenge with projects like this.
And for the live concert, I planned to introduce the neoclassical compositions with a short reading of a corresponding text. As an attunement, so to speak. I was surprised not to find any suitable material. But that doesn't matter for the studio album.
PH: What are some influences and inspirations you’d say played a part in shaping the sounds?
Sukiennik: I would say the whole history of music. That's my hobbyhorse—I've been digging through the piano repertoire of famous classical composers and jazz.
In particular, I would mention neoclassical composers like Ludovico Einaudi, or film music, which also often features string and piano music. Nevertheless, Erik Satie also shines through, for example in the columnar sounds of “Das Unwohlsein abschmecken (Taste the malaise).”
For Neo-soul style Gregory Porter and Herbie Hancock. The latter was the favorite pianist of my youth.
PH: What do you like the best about The C Chronicles?
Sukiennik: For one, working with my dear fellow musicians. That was really fun and a huge enrichment.
I love everyone's contribution, especially the vocals. That's because of the great voices of Cher-Ginger and Daniel Basso. But also because I usually write mainly instrumental music. By the way, in recent years only for piano solos. For me, writing for a band or an ensemble feels like back to the roots.
I also love the album character. In the age of streaming, everything revolves around a single track. And also the recommendations for releases are: Record a single track or an EP—a small collection of tracks.
There used to be great concept albums e.g. by the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Prince’s Love Symbol and Marvin Gaye’s What's Going On.
In classical music, great work is the standard anyway. To name some: Vivald - “The Four Seasons”; Benjamin Britten - “War Requiem.” This also moved into big-band jazz. From Duke Ellington's Black Brown And Beige to Wynton Marsalis's Blood On The Fields. I really love that.
I also like the sensual sound of the album. It retains a fresh, partially improvised character. Above all, it is not top-heavy. More of a “stay in the moment” attitude. And that’s the lesson of this period I guess. One imposed by the pandemic.
