CD – Denovali

The versatile Robin Schlochtermeier, a composer, sound designer and musician with a background in classical music who often works for cinema and tv productions, returns on Denovali after two EPs, one released in 2017 and another in 2018, this time with a nine-track album. From the opening track, “Lapping”, the sonic crossovers reveal the use of both organic and occasionally synthetic elements, in combination with traditional and electronic instrumentation. In this case, the piano is clearly evident, together with a dilated and insinuating drone sequence. Similarly, in the following tracks, “Woodlouse” and “Glacial”, it is the flow of the piano that leads the grace and extension of the piece, although the background sound textures become more choral and stratified. “Foghorn” is a shadowy and melancholic composition, elliptical and introverted, while “Transparence” puts together a whirlpool effect with the piano and the chamber orchestra. The sounds of “Flutters” ideally evoke faint memories and fantastical narratives. In “Sonnenstaub” some faint drums are added to field recordings of the sea, still following a meditative and peaceful path. The final track is “Vapours”, elegiac and more solemn than the others. The album is quite “ambient” and evocative, intimate and dreamy: the sound of the prepared piano leads to sensitive recollections. The track makes use of an English upright piano from the fifties whose original strings are worn and dampened with poster putty. The effect is a muted sustain, with a sharp attack and a soft resonance. This is not just an affectation. All the elements combine to create a strong feeling of intimacy and care for detail. “My inspiration for the album is tied up in having become a father recently”, says composer Robin Schlochtermeier. “As my daughter’s consciousness was forming, I would often catch an amazed look on her face or notice that she stopped and stared at some small detail in her environment. This would frequently evoke a profound sense of mystery in me, and I grew curious as to what was causing her to react in such ways.” The profound sense of mystery and the feeling of open curiosity are a natural consequence of the tracks he developed. Spectral is not “spectral” and can’t be associated with spectral music: the listening is enjoyable, the sequences are quiet and sweet, the implied goal is exploring a limited palette of sounds and creating space to marvel in the arrangements. The result seems very successful to us.

 

Robin Schlochtermeier – Spectral