Someone asked me recently if I never got bored of repeatedly reviewing the music of the same artists. My answer was that it all depends on the music they make. There are artists that you don’t ‘click’ with. And if that would be an artist with a high output, I would at some point state that it’s ‘more of the same’ or maybe ‘1 out of 10 ain’t bad’ or something like that. It’s a bit of a Merzbow thing: Out of his 400 releases, I have maybe 5 or 10, and it’s more than enough.
But at the same time, some artists have a reasonably high output (read: higher than myself / 1 per 2 years), and I rarely get fed up with it. Sure, I have my remarks about some of their tracks or releases, but every time I hear new work, they surprise me in a way. And without sucking up to the boss, Modelbau is one of those projects. Through Vital Weekly, I heard way more from Modelbau than I ever held possible. And every time I hear a new release, it somehow triggers me. Let’s explore this one as an example.
“Insomniac’s Dream” is available as a digital download, on cassette and CDr. It contains four tracks between 9 and 13 minutes, resulting in 46 minutes of… well… Modelbau. These tracks were written in 2018 and simply numbered I to IV. Where (I think) I know Modelbau more from a droney approach where complex delays and tape structures form a repetition of modulations and sounds, “Insomniac’s Dream” has a way more soundscapish approach. Massive layers of deep rumble and backgrounds are pushed into the perspective of the foreground. In contrast, the miniature finesses of everyday life are pushed towards the back, resulting in – what was to be expected – a dreamlike state where it’s hard to tell the reality from the dream. The B-side adds heavily filtered sounds, touching the point of feedback but never tipping the scale, and the closing track dives a bit deeper into subtle noisiness. Without it ever becoming noise, though: at most, a bit ‘raw’.
So isn’t there anything bad on “Insomniac’s Dream”? Well, I would have chosen a different opening sound for track II. Compared to the relaxing state track I soothe you, you are roughly awakened by an alarm. But having said that, recheck the title. Isn’t that what this release is about? Don’t you think an insomniac wants to sleep? And why is (s)he awake, because some inner alarm says so! So, well, yes, I would have chosen a different method/sound to get that effect, but It’s not my release; it’s Modelbau’s, and he did a beautiful job.
Comments
Post a Comment