Retold

Berlin-based composer Hainbach collaborates with the Freiburg-based modern classical group Ensemble Recherche on the 2025 album Retold. Released via Seil Records, the eleven-track project is available in digital, cassette, and compact disc formats. The release bridges Hainbach’s signature use of tape loops and experimental electronics with the rigorous contemporary instrumentation of Ensemble Recherche, an institution in the new music scene since 1985. The album features a chamber ensemble consisting of flute, oboe, piano, percussion, and strings, with live processing and sound design handled by Lukas Nowok. Conceptually, the record functions as a reinterpretation of Hainbach’s core motifs, transforming individual electronic sketches into shared, collective electroacoustic experiences. Situated within the year’s landscape of neo-classical and experimental electronic music, Retold explores themes of homecoming and memory through shifting audio landscapes that blend acoustic textures with electronic manipulation.