School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Paul Lovens

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Paul Lovens was born in 1949 in Aachen and is a German drummer and percussionist. He plays drums, percussion and cymbals, and also the singing saw, a rare instrument in music. He belongs to European free jazz and free improvisation. In the early 1970s he played in a trio with the pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, a collaboration he continued afterwards. He also performed with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra and the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra.

Music and breakthrough

Lovens worked with many names from free music, including Cecil Taylor, Peter Brötzmann, Eugene Chadbourne, Mats Gustafsson, Thomas Lehn, Phil Wachsmann and Joëlle Léandre. He also played with Florian Schneider and Eberhard Kranemann in an early incarnation of Kraftwerk. With the drummer Paul Lytton he runs the record label Po Torch, on which many of his own albums appeared, such as Paul Rutherford / Paul Lovens (1978) and Stranger Than Love (1985).

Influence

His records appeared on, among others, FMP, Po Torch, Intakt and Acta. In the 1970s he recorded, among other things, Carpathes, with Michel Pilz and Peter Kowald. In this way Lovens has built up a long career in free improvisation.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording with Lovens. Notice how the percussion does not keep a fixed tempo, but responds to what the other musicians do.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists