For the adventurous listeners out there recently two absolute stunning records came out… and the funny thing is neither of these amazing pieces of music were composed… and I am not a big fan of improvisational music most of the time… this as it often lacks a real narrative in my opinion… or maybe I just listen to the wrong improvisational music?
Anyway the Duhkha debut LP “Mariyammal” is not a real piece of improvisation music… the description on the website of the new label label Idéoblaste which released the record states that the project was created and curated by Benjamin Bex… I hope you remember his excellent album “Rosegger”… but… curated… that is an interesting approach to create music… and one I can totally understand… as I think about the work for my label also as being that one of a curator… especially for the compilation albums…
Benjamin Bex has for the Duhkha project recorded mechanical sound machines (by an artist called Pierre Cordeeff) and cello improvisations (by musician Nathalie Ponneau). Next to that two turntablism artists contributed a soundscape and another musician shared some real time audio synthesis… Bex then assembled and reworked all of this and added acoustic guitar, piano and vocals…
This sounds all very artistic and it is… but often these kind of pretentious projects end with music most people do not understand and/or cannot enjoy at all… and that is maybe the best part about this record… as the result is simply mind blowing music!
I am sure you can imagine it is hard to describe the exact sound and all of this record… but think of a mix of (60’s) modern classical music and the weird post-industrial pop tunes of Europ Europ… it is not only the voice of Bex which reminds me of Europ Europ… it is also the scratching sounds and dissonant elements… the mechanical part is evident as you feel like the music could be operated by one big weird old machine (Intonarumori?) which is hand controlled by some sort of steering wheel… and this is why it also reminds me at times of the music created with a bicycle by Good Cop / Naughty Cop…
This album is a true experience… music you need to listen to with attention… music which demands you to listen to with attention…
The same goes for the improvisational album “Weather Report” by Rinji Fukuoka, Michel Henritzi and Luca Massolin… I must admit I never heard of these musicians before…
“Weather Report” could have been composed music as it is hard to believe that an improvisation could lead to such a strong narrative and experience… like the Duhkha album the music at times reminds me of Good Cop / Naughty Cop… due to some sounds which come across as created by some sort of mechanical machine… like a bike for example…
On the other hand this album could appeal to people who like the last Dirty Beaches album “Stateless”… only “Weather Report” has more layers and is more complex… and due to this it is also less typical ambient music which could fade away to the background… the two long pieces are evolving all the time and is pulling you in never to let loose until the music stops…
These two records will get you through summer without boring you for a second! I have a few copies for sale of both at Enfant Terrible webshop…
