OM Gossip #2
So as promised, a bit of writing around our next release, Hermetic Topography by Stuttgart-based free music collective Zebularin and a stunning video by artist Lucia Schmuck for Zebularin’s track “Wesung”.
Btw don’t worry - we won’t send out newsletters every two days.
Daniel Vujanic, the driving force behind the band, is a musical maniac. Beneath Zebu tapes which emerged on superb labels Steep Gloss and Cruel Nature, he also played/plays in more than a handful of other outfits like Höhlenmusik Ensemble, Ixtar, E Jugend or the transatlantic duo Graves And Orchestra Pits.
On “Hermetic Topography”, he layered electro-acoustic solo material, synths, prerecorded audio meditations, without bending the sounds into detailed harmonic structures, but to build up dense, morphing atmospheres. Then Daniel Kartmann, a combatant in many of Vujanic‘s musical endeavours, came in and added his percussions, wind instruments. The duo laid down basic tracks, kept arrangements vague, creating a perfect environment for a range of other players and instruments to walk in: piano, woodwinds, electronics, ebowed guitars and a vibraphone. The resulting record is a tender, affectionate take on jazz and electroacoustic composition. One can hear the routine of the involved cast as well as the fun, deep listening and correspondence that took place; even though this album was not recorded live in big-band-style, musical ideas interlock on an intuitive level and complement each other.
Take „Peljuga“ as a perfect example, a loosened jazz improv reminding of The Notwist‘s more psychic enhanced moments, which blends into a conversation between a contact mic and heavily manipulated synths and turns into a minimalist piano composition, which melds into a climactic peak and is interrupted only to rise again. And as complex as this description sounds, as uplifting is the actual song.
The video by Lucia Schmuck consists of perfectly fitting stop-motion animations - a coming into being of melting forms and psyched-out phenomena. Find her on instagram @luciaschmuck and give some props!
The tape will be out on 21/2/21, in an edition of 70 hand-dubbed tapes, so smoke ‘em while you got ‘em.
Also, our long-time friend and collaborator Nils Quak has a new tape out on Grisaille, a great tape label with a distinct catalogue worth checking out. Listen to Palais Onthologie here and get one of the 4 remaining tapes.
End transmission 2.
Love,
Ambassador Kaputt