The Wire (UK)

It’s a pleasure to follow the patient, intricate explorations of this Berlin based duo, as Voutchkova’s string double-stoppings mesh with Thieke’s woodwind multiphonics. Notes pass into noise and back again. The twist in the improv tail is that now and then, almost imperceptibly, they introduce recordings of themselves playing, which they endeavour to duplicate. Some of these passages have a remarkable, haunted quality, as if the music is staring at itself in a mirror… The result is a fresh, very listenable stretch of close instrumental interplay.
Clive Bell

New Sounds (USA)

A highly recommended new triple-CD. What concentration, what care.Essentially they are breathing…
Ben Ratliff

Just Outside (USA)

I’ve been remiss in remarking how simply gorgeous the meld of violin and clarinet (or two violins and two clarinets) is…. .. A really fine, complex and unusual release, and a superb initial outing for Elsewhere.
Brian Olewnick

All About Jazz (USA)

This album’s masterstroke is to include three distinctly different concerts, giving each one a disc of its own. Such juxtapositioning emphasises the subtle variations between concerts, due to the room, the players‘ moods, the audience and its reactions to the players…. They began differently, developed and ended differently. The only constant across all three was the quality of the playing and the players‘ reactions which were exquisite in every way. One helluva way to launch a new record label!
John Eyles

Freejazzblog

…simply surrender to the magnificent sonic universes of Voutchkova and Thieke. Soon enough you may find yourself drawn again and again to their addictive duets, wishing for more and always discovering new nuances and ideas. Voutchkova and Thieke offer an arresting journey through sounds and sounds within sounds, increasing their and ours, the listeners, sensitivity of perception. Their sonic explorations are sketched with quiet intensity, reserved but passionate dynamics, adventurous, inventive spirit and austere beauty. Both carefully deconstruct the conventional, sonic spectrum of their instruments into subtle particles that flow organically, creating a completely new language on their own.
Eyal Hareuveni

Spontaneous Music Tribune

Contemporary chamber music that is burning with emotion, strongly contaminated by the irresistible need for improvisation. ….This pair of musicians is capable of any artistic volatility.
Andrzej Nowak

Vital Weekly (NL)

I was overwhelmed by the passionate intensity and unity of their music. Their conversations have substance and are full of nuance and subtleties that matter.
Dolf Mulder

DMG downtownmusicgallery USA 

The Berlin-based Bulgarian violinist Biliana Voutchkova and German clarinetist Michael Thieke have worked together intensely within both compositional and improvisational duo and group projects in Berlin since 2011. You should recognize Mr. Thieke’s work from his varied projects: Clarinet Trio, the Magic I.D. and the International Nothing. 
   In their current project “Blurred Music”, the duo works with musical structures that create a blur; improvised parts alternate with fields of pre-structured material in which digital recordings of the duo are duplicated by live performance. Virtually identical fragments of the live performance synchronize simultaneously with the playback, unavoidably giving rise to blur in the temporal dimension, in the rhythmic, timbral, and motivic variations, and in the microtonal interpretation of individual pitches. 
   The triple CD ‚Blurred Music‘ features three of the duo’s live performances, recorded in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York during their USA tour in December 2016. These three live recordings are all very differently structured, factoring in the conditions and the atmosphere of each venue as well as the musicians‘ own perspective and mindset. This series of three concerts, all occurring within a nine day period, showcase the very wide range of this duo, so all three recordings combine to form a saga of their peak. Using their highly trained virtuosic skills and intense concentration, the duo carefully deconstructs the conventional tones of instruments into fine particles in an organic flow, to create a completely new world of music on their own, somewhere between tonality and atonality, and will hopefully be recognized as one of the most mature accomplishments of improvisational/compositional works of this era.” 
   As I listen to each of  these three discs for the second time, I noticed that overall sound/balance is different at each performance. The sound in the room, placement of mic’s and subtle playing of each of the two musicians all factor into the distinctive results. I had to turn up the volume at times to hear the subtle textures and manipulations. On Disc 1, I hear mostly acoustic clarinet and violin weaving their way together in waves or fragments. I am currently reading the thick new book about Keith Rowe, written by journalist Brian Olewnick. This is most appropriate since guitarist & composer, Keith Rowe, is a guiding light for the Erstwhile and now Elsewhere labels. The clarinet and violin sound perfect together since both have a certain warm, wooden sound and often create careful drones, making it hard to tell who is playing which sound. I know there are some written parts here which make it hard to tell where the improv ends and the written parts begin. The vibe or flow has a mysterious sense of synchronicity, a current that runs throughout, which can be felt by those sympathetic to the magic forces within. There is quite a bit more going on here that one might imagine. The duo slowly yet consistently shift through many different layers, melodic and abstract fragments are in constant motion, making the results both fascinating and unpredictable. I am currently on Disc 2 and remain transfixed. A grand toast to Yuko Zama for her inspired efforts. –

Bruce Lee Gallanter