Monday, January 14, 2008

Swod - Sekunden (City Centre Offices)

Swod is front running the evolution of modern classical composition with their second full length release on one of my favorite labels, City Centre Offices. The ping-pong approach of passing the files back and forth among two talented composers who met in Berlin in 1991, Oliver Doerell and Stephan Wöhrmann, cemented a perfect distance bridge for a marvelous result. Minimal piano melodies and lo-fi filter sweeps of hissing field recordings and "the voice of a long dead cinema icon" allow for new discovered samples on each rotation. Being a long time follower of Dictaphone (Oliver Doerell's project with Roger Döring), I instantly recognize the borrowed clicks, tweaked chirps, and many other electronic treatments that are so characteristic of Dictaphone's earlier releases on CCO. Wöhrmann's piano playing adds yet another dimension to the style, and gently shifts the genre from future jazz into neo classical. I listen to this album over and over, and it seems to perfectly accompany the sentimental feeling I get when I stare out the window and watch the world run through its senseless cycles. No wonder the duo has scored silent films. Highly recommended if you like Porn Sword Tobacco, Julien Neto, Xela, and of course Dictaphone. Favorite tracks: Ja, Sekunden, and Paintage.

myspace.com/swod



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