Aukai is the the ambient/acoustic project from Markus Sieber. The track was recorded and mixed by Martyn Heyne (who engineered Nils Frahm’s Spaces album) at Lichte Studio Berlin, who actually connected with Markus at the urging of Nils. It also features Anne Müller on cello (Agnes Obel Band, Nils Frahm) and Laurie Anderson-collaborator Jamshied Sharifi from NYC on vintage keys throughout. The LP was mastered by Mandy Parnell, the award-winning engineer who’s mastered albums like Bjork’s ‘Biophila’, Max Richter’s ‘Sleep’, Aphex Twin’s ‘Syro’, Eno’s ‘Drums Between the Bells’ & many others.

“This track has been inspired by the stunning landscape of the French Alps with it’s vast plateaus and meadows. The two Ronroco layers – a 10 strings instrument from Latin America – float in a light and sweet vibe, while underlaying textures of fender rhodes, piano and rhythmical elements add harmonic sophistication driving the theme into a more mysterious and passionate space. The track plays with the combination of folkloristic natural sounds and electronics soundscapes. Here again I had the pleasure to work closely together with my brother, Alex Nickmann, a Berlin based sound designer.”

Players:
Markus Sieber – ronroco
Alex Nickmann – fender rhodes, piano, synthesizer
mixed and mastered by Martyn Heyne