Colin Currie, Colin Currie Group

Reich: Sextet
Reich: Double Sextet
Reich: Six Marimbas
Reich: Dance Patterns

Widely acknowledged as the world’s leading percussionist and a tireless champion of contemporary music, Colin Currie has formed a profound artistic bond with the music of Steve Reich. This latest release on his own label, Colin Currie Records, brings together the composer’s most iconic mid-sized ensemble works, performed by the group specifically hand-picked to interpret this intricate, pulsating repertoire. From the interlocking rhythmic grids of Sextet to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet, the album is a masterclass in the precision and "groove" that define the minimalist aesthetic.

Colin Currie writes: ‘Performing Steve Reich is a physical and mental marathon that I have come to crave. For years, I approached Sextet with a certain degree of trepidation—the sheer stamina required to maintain those relentless, shifting pulses is immense. But as the Colin Currie Group has matured, we have moved beyond the "tussle" with the technical demands and into a space of pure, shared energy. There is a specific joy in the way Six Marimbas creates a shimmering haze of sound, or the way Double Sextet play-fights with its own pre-recorded ghost. To record these works now feels like the culmination of a decade-long journey; we no longer just play the notes, we inhabit the heartbeat of the music. It is an extraordinary privilege to bring these vivid, architectural soundscapes to life and to close the program with the driving clarity of Dance Patterns—no grand gestures, just the perfect, interlocking machinery of rhythm.’