De Vries heard a performance by Germanus and his group at November Music in Den Bosch and was completely blown away by it. Germanus himself describes his work as ‘extremely difficult to perform microtonal music’, and that is what it is. But don’t expect an inwardly priggish group: the Hallucinating Harmonists also simply swing the pan.
The line-up consists of drums, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, three saxes and trumpet, with Germanus as the composing (and non-playing) band member. The band members play adapted or home-made instruments that allow them to operate in unusual tunings. Germanus wrote very diverse pieces with influences from all sorts of genres, from ‘real’ jazz to ambient, pop and classical. It results in a rollercoaster ride of acoustic disorientation that is, above all, extremely compelling and entertaining.