Hauschka

Prepared piano

Hauschka is the stage name of Volker Bertelmann, born on October 11, 1966 in Kreuztal, West Germany, and based in Düsseldorf. A pianist and composer who was formerly a rapper, he bought a Moog Prodigy with his confirmation money at 13. His work centers on the prepared piano, objects placed in and on the strings. With Dustin O'Halloran he scored the film Lion (2016).

Salon des Amateurs (2011) was recorded at his own Studio Zwei. The press release described treated-piano experiments from his live show reworked into minimalist house and techno structures, with drums and other instruments. Wikipedia says it was planned as a joint release with Foreign Landscapes, but the recordings did not fit, so they were released separately.

His labels have included Karaoke Kalk early on, 130701 and FatCat from 2006 and 2007, and City Slang from 2013. Salon des Amateurs came out on FatCat's 130701 imprint on April 12, 2011.