Nils Quak & Dino Spiluttini :: Modular Anxiety (Umor Rex)

This split album provides a natural musical variety around meditatively calm texturally drone sequences, distorted chordal noises and heuristic developmental experiments which demonstrate a great flexibility in ambient compositional schemas.

Mostly known for his exceptional diversified craft-glitch electronic experiments Cologne based artist Nils Quak is back, this time for a new opus in collaboration with the versatile ambient-dream droning architect Dino Spiluttini (from Vienna, Austria). Titled Modular Anxiety, this new effort is delivered in a beautifully designed vinyl work that will ravish collectors. Their respective sensitive-qualitative fragilely empirical microtonal studies of past work is here and slightly attenuated. More frankly synthesized orientated sound textures are interrupted by aleatoric-conceptual sound manipulations which are impressively heterogenic.

Dino Spiluttini’s sound sculptures produce complex-abrasive and massively immersive sounds engaged in a meaningful emotional musical language. Those almost “dramatic” and beautifully intense kinetic electronic synthscapes are an absolute recommended listening experience for those who like the “illuminated noises impulsion’s” of Tim Hecker, Aidan Baker and by extent the digitalized (post) industrial epics of Massimo Magrini (Bad Sector). Stately-looped ambient excursions are punctuated by ambivalent-nervous micro changes for some beautiful contrasts and qualities of wonder. Nils Quak’s chapter delivers even more “cryptical” / unconventional soundscaping experiments which can be merely identified with the avant-garde, spectral, intellectual compositions capable of operating very intriguing and unpredictable sound interactions. It introduces the listener in an original investigation on a new world of sound colors (playing with elasticity, pitch, accidents, processing form….).

This split album provides a natural musical variety around meditatively calm texturally drone sequences, distorted chordal noises and heuristic developmental experiments which demonstrate a great flexibility in ambient compositional schemas. A welcomed and imaginative experimental ambient album to start the year.

Modular Anxiety is available on Umor Rex.

ecu-1-logo-pub-igloo-magazine