Aukai

Aukai is the solo project of Markus Sieber, a composer and multi-instrumentalist from the United States. Sieber spends part of the 1990s playing rock music in East Germany before moving into acting, then returns to music after a move to Mexico. The project emerges from his wish to make music that works alongside film, video, theatre and visual art.

Background and name

The name Aukai comes from the Hawaiian word for a seafaring traveller, reflecting Sieber’s interest in movement, travel and quiet reflection. He describes the music as connected to memories of travel, childhood and nature, and as a way of creating a sonic space that leads the listener into an inner world.

Debut album and sound

Aukai’s self-titled debut develops around Sieber’s interest in the ronrocco, an Argentine plucked string instrument he first discovers through the work of film composer Gustavo Santaolalla, including Babel and Brokeback Mountain. Much of the album is shaped by time spent in a mountainside cabin around Colorado’s La Plata Canyon, where the basic tracks are prepared.

The record is described as ambient and instrumental in character, with acoustic textures and subtle electronic elements. Sieber presents it as an “unfinished” and tangible sound rather than a heavily processed one.

Collaborators and production

The album is developed with several musicians, including cellist Anne Muller, known for work with Agnes Obel and Nils Frahm; violinist Bogdan Djukic; pianist Angelika Baumbach; keyboardist Alexander Nickmann; and long-time collaborator Jamshied Sharifi, who has worked with Laurie Anderson, Sting and Dream Theater. The material is recorded at Lichte Studio Berlin, mixed in Berlin by Martyn Heyne and mastered in London by Mandy Parnell.

Context

The music is compared with ambient and instrumental artists such as Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Goldmund/Helios, while still presented as distinct from those references. Sieber’s approach combines travel, memory, acoustic instrumentation and light electronic detail into a reflective sound world.