It was five years ago in Bern, Switzerland that acclaimed British experimental pop musician Conrad Lambert, known as Merz, met Swiss drummer and sound artist Julian Sartorius. Sartorius was drafted in as percussionist for Merz‘s album No Compass Will Find Home, an album containing ‘consistently thoughtful songwriting,’ according to the Guardian.

His richly detailed and expansive songs were then reconstructed. At the hands of 33-year-old Julian Sartorius the companion album Drum & Vocal Renditions reduced as well as radicalised No Compass Will Find Home, Sartorius applying the same rules and operation methods to Merz‘s song variations as his epic audio-visual Beat Diary; every beat is actually played, every sound is real.

To perform the Renditions album live Sartorius created a band consisting of four exceptional drummers, named Merz feat. Sartorius Drum Ensemble. Merz stands alone among the four drummer’s kits singing his songs a capella over the multi-textural, sometimes delicate, sometimes thunderous rhythmic sound.

Merz and Sartorius have subsequently collaborated on the writing for Merz’s latest albumThinking Like A Mountain with Merz using Sartorius’s textural rhythms as a foundation for the emerging song.

This joint UK tour sees Merz and Sartorius play together as a duo, combining their respective strengths, originality and idiosyncrasies as musicians in a fast evolving, fluid performance of Merz’s repertoire of songs.

‘Merz’s fireside-folk songs become multi-faceted towers when combined with Julian Sartorius’ unyielding drum beats’ – Impose Magazine

Opening each night Julian Sartorius will perform his intricately conceived solo drum show, a unique and must-see spectacle from one of Europe’s most creative drummers.

‘Best drummer in the universe’ – Andy Votel

‘Magnificent’ – Matthew Herbert