Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN
Spin
| Nik Bärtsch | piano |
|---|---|
| Kaspar Rast | drums |
| SHA | alto saxophone/bass and contrabass clarinets |
| Jeremias Keller | double bass |
‘SPIN’ is the 9th release of the working band RONIN since its foundation in 2001 and the first with the new bass player Jeremias Keller, who joined the band in 2020. The band still consists of the founding members Nik Bärtsch and drummer Kaspar Rast and reeds player SHA who has been part of the group since 2004.
ECM recording artist Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN incorporates elements of disparate musical worlds, be they funk, new classical music or sounds from Japanese ritual music with Swiss precison. In addition to its tours and performances, RONIN held a concert every Monday evening at EXIL, its own club in Zurich. This is where the magic about this band comes from.
Since their last release AWASE (ECM 2018), the band has continuously developed the repertoire further in their weekly concerts on Monday – even during the Corona time. In January 2024 they played MONTAGS concert number 1000 and celebrated 20 years of Monday concerts in November. The new album therefore shows not only the newest developments like Modul 63 and Modul 66 but also a combination of new and old material in Modul 70_51 (51 recorded on the ECM album Llyría, 2010) and the two classics Modul 14 and Modul 23 in completely new arrangements and interpretations.
SPIN shows the phase in which the band is now: looking back and forward at the same time. The RONIN rhythm culture based on pattern, cycle and groove developments with refined beats is still present, combined with playfulness and the consciousness for freedom within the clear structures. The band members’ ear for chamber music-like details, blending, ghost notes and micro phrasings refreshes the music live, and on the record, as always.
This event will last approximately 2 hours, including an interval.
Concessions & Under 30s tickets
Kings Place Concessions Tickets
We want to ensure that people who may be struggling financially to purchase a ticket can still enjoy visiting Kings Place. A limited number of tickets are allocated for certain events (if the ticket type does not show in the booking pathway, it means they are not available for this event or have all been sold). Concessions tickets are accessible for people on the following criteria (for more information visit our FAQs)
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Disability Benefit
- Income Support or Job Seekers allowance
- Students
£10 ‘Under 30s’ tickets
A limited number of £10 tickets for attendees aged under 30 are available for certain shows. To purchase an ‘Under 30s’ ticket, please choose the ‘Under 30s’ price type when selecting your ticket(s). If the option does not appear, this means all ‘Under 30s’ tickets have sold out or are not available for this performance. Please note that proof of age may be requested at the venue. The £10 offer does not apply to premium price categories.
Plan your visit
Getting here
Kings Place is situated just a few minutes’ walk from King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, one of the most connected locations in London and now the biggest transport hub in Europe.
Our address is:
90 York Way, London, N1 9AG.
The Venue
Our performance spaces are situated on the lower ground floor. Hall One, Hall Two and St Pancras are located in level -2, reached by stairs, escalator and lift from the ground floor entrance level.
Event Times
Door times indicate auditorium entrance times only. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Kings Place seating areas, gallery-level art, canal-side terrace, café, restaurant and bar throughout the day and evening.
- Our events begin promptly at the advertised start time. Typically, there is no support unless otherwise stated.
- We recommend arriving in good time before the performance. The Hall doors will open 30 minutes before the performance to allow time to take your seats, or to choose a space for standing shows.
- Latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance where possible
Access
We aim to make your visit to Kings Place as comfortable as possible. For more information about the accessibility of Kings Place, including details about our Access Scheme, please visit this page.
If you would like to discuss your access requirements with a member of our team, please get in touch with the Box Office team at info@kingsplace.co.uk.
Food & Drink
Rotunda Bar & Restaurant
Rotunda, situated on the ground floor of Kings Place, offers a unique dining and drinking experience alongside Regent’s Canal. The concert bar in the venue foyer will also be open for select events.
Green & Fortune Café
Recently re-furbished and now open with a new look, the Green & Fortune Café is open for selected concerts. Serving hot and cold food and drinks, including sandwiches, salads, soup, stew and a pie of the day, alongside a choice of cakes made by the on-site bakery team. See here for selected concert dates and standard opening hours.
Reviews
‘My favorite set from the entire four-day event (Big Ears Festival 2024)—and probably one of my top shows ever—came Thursday evening with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin.’ Ryan Reed, Spin Magazine
‘One of the most uplifting concerts of the (2024 Big Ear) festival was Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin. Bathed in stage smoke, Ronin seemed like high priests of minimalism and the mystic.’ Jeff Towne, echoes.org
‘On paper, Ronin is a standard quartet of reeds, keyboards, bass, and drums. What they play though is both unique and universal….what you hear is astonishingly funky and hip.’ George Grella, star-revue.com
Nik Bärtsch
Born in Zurich in 1971, is an internationally renowned Pianist, composer, producer and founder of the label Ronin Rhythm Records, the Zurich music club EXIL and the indie classical festival Currents Zurich. He records exclusively for ECM records, the internationally renowned German jazz and classical label and his own label and has performed in over 50 countries in clubs, institutions and festivals like the Big Ears Festival Knoxville, San Francisco, London Berlin, Shanghai or Cape Town Jazz Festival. His compositions are played by renowned ensembles like The Bang On A Can Ensemble New York, The Third Coast Percussion Group Chicago, The RIAS chamber choir Berlin or the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
Nik Bärtsch received instruction in piano and percussion from the age 8 leading up to a 1997 Graduation from the ‘Musikhochschule Zurich’ with a classical diploma. From 1989-2001 Nik Bärtsch studied philosophy, linguistics and musicology at the University of Zurich. During this time he played in several jazz and classical groups like f.e. The Gershwin Piano Quartet and founds his own acoustic group MOBILE (since 1997) and his zen funk quartet RONIN (since 2001). In 2003/04, he stayed in Japan for half a year for general studies in Aikido, zen-meditation and music. Nik Bärtsch has a 3rd Dan in Aikido.
Together with drummer Kaspar Rast, he is the founder of the Mondays concert series (since 2004, www.montags.com) with over 1,030 Monday concerts till today.
Kaspar Rast
Born July 3rd 1972 in Zurich. Apprenticeship as a violinmaker 1988-1992. Studies at the Drummers Collective NY 1992. Since 1992 professional musician & luthier. Sideman for several artists: Raul de Souza, Dana Briant (US), The Clients (CH), Heiri Kaenzig (CH), Björn Meyer (SW), 1998-2019 member of Nik Bärtsch’s MOBILE and since 2001 of Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN.
SHA
Stefan Haslebacher, born 1983 in Bern, saxophone, bass- and contrabass clarinettist, composer and producer. 2010-2011 Master of Arts in Music Pedagogy (MHS Luzern) 2008-2010 Master of Arts in Music Performance Jazz (MHS Luzern). Solo project Monbijou in the tunnel of the Monbijou bridge in Berne. 2024 artistic New York stay for half a year.
Jeremias Keller
Born in 1986 in Aargau, lives in Berne since 2007. He learned classical piano as a child and self-taught guitar, drums and finally electric bass as a teenager. He studied the electric bass and pedagogy at HKB Jazz. He also studied composition with Django Bates, Frank Sikora and Klaus Wagenleiter. Founding member and co-composer of the band pommelHORSE. In 2017, he founded his trio Jeremias Keller’s Vertigo with Florian Favre and Lionel Friedli. In 2020, Jeremias Keller started to record and produce music in his home studio. The music has been and will be released under the name Lakota. It features various singers on each song. Currently he is a member of King Pepe & the Queens and Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin in addition to his own projects. Professor for pedagogy at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste.