Electric explosiveness from Vienna, alluring darkness from Frankfurt and edgy, wall-cracking experimentalism from Düsseldorf.
Radian :: On Dark Silent Off (Thrill Jockey)
Vienna’s Radian is a three-headed sonic monster, a well-oiled machine producing sonorous, indefinable musical compositions that cut, slice and drill with electric explosiveness. With On Dark Silent Off, their new album on the mighty Thrill Jockey imprint, Martin Brandlmayr (drums, electronics), John Norman (bass) and Martin Siewert (guitars, electronics), push the boundaries of their own self-generated idiosyncratic sonic universe further and deeper down into outlandish, dangerous territories. The sound and textures are treated with so much care and sophistication, and each risky maneuver is performed with infectious intensity and surgical accuracy. Bits and pieces of rock, electronica, industrial, dub and metal assemble a futuristic, incendiary kind of hybridism unlike anything else out there. These guys work together as a ship without a captain, sailing through unexplored seas and visiting new islands of mystery and bizarreness, darkness and light. Each explorer contributes his own expertise to the voyage without outshining his co-conspirators. The All for one, and one for all motto shines throughout as Radian surges forward boldly through the orphic mists into the unknown.
J.Peter Schwalm :: The Beauty of Disaster (RareNoise)
Frankfurt’s renowned producer and Brian Eno collaborator, J.Peter Schwalm, returns with a new album on RareNoise called The Beauty of Disaster—a window into a dynamic battleground of contrasts where rays of hope are found hidden deep within the depths of alluring, looming darkness. The album’s compositions feature contributions by a number of big guns: Eivind Aarset on guitars, Tim Harries on bass, Martin France on drums, Michael Wöllny on organ, Christine Schütze on piano and Nell Catchpole on viola. Each contributor performs his/her gymnastics to fit Schwalm’s unique vision. Precise, skillful production work originates a crystal clear sound that intensifies the emotional charms and atmospheric aura of the peculiar, eclectic musicianship. Elements of ambient, electronica, post-rock and jazz are tied together in a way that makes it impossible to classify the whole they create. Ten beautiful, reflective and highly evocative nocturnes to enrich your nights.
Orson Hentschel :: Feed the Tape (Denovali)
Young, Düsseldorf-based sound scientist, Orson Hentschel, delivers his powerful debut album, Feed the Tape, via Denovali. Throughout ten compositions, informed by the modus operandi of Steve Reich but also by other eccentric methods of sound design, Hentschel eruptively weaves high-octane, emotional landscapes filled with sharp, electrifying tension and abstract, raw magnetism spiced with elusive classical tendencies and cinematic vibrations. He confidently demonstrates an outrageous control and dynamic and highly individualistic use of the art of repetition. This is edgy, wall-cracking experimentalism that fiercely defies categorization, woven by a daring, unconventional artist who thinks outside of the box. A spiritual, sensory experience.
