I disagree, I really like it, but it doesn't work well for iPod
listening. There are some weird things going on with the bass that are
only revealed with a large system. I'm a long-time IDM fan, though, so
maybe I'm more receptive to abstract noodling. In any case, here's my
complete review:
http://www.gridface.com/reviews/vertical_ascent.html
Cheers,
Jacob
On Jul 4, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Tristan Watkins wrote:
I blogged up this review the other day: http://www.phonopsia.co.uk/?p=634
...
For those who haven’t kept up, the Moritz von Ozwald Trio is a
collaboration between Moritz von Ozwald, Max Loderbauer of Sun
Electric and Sasu Ripatti AKA Luomo/Vladislav Delay. They’ve played
live a few times, garnering much wider interest than you’d expect
from one-off local gigs, unfortunately brought further in to the
spotlight by Moritz Von Oswald’s recent rumoured stroke, just before
the trio were due to play at last year’s DEAF.
The Trio’s long-awaited first release, Vertical Ascent, is now
available for download for £4 from the Honest Jon’s website. There
are physical media available for purchase in most vinyl/CD purveyors
as well.
I’ve only had the time to listen to it twice today, and my thoughts
are mixed. On one hand, this could never be as good as it looks on
paper. On the other hand, the end result is not entriely what I
would have expected. It’s more percussive than I anticipated. It’s
also very composed, with longer tracks that vary considerably and
last quite some time. This isn’t that surprising given recent work
like von Ozwald’s remixes of Auricle/Bio/On and Watamu Beach.
Unfortunately, like those remixes, I feel that they promise more
than they deliver. There are elements that distinguish it from these
recent remixes, and they are welcome, but the end result initially
feels the same. The tracks never really seem to arrive. It’s all
ascent, stopping shot of the suggested apex.
There’s plenty here to be excited about, but based on first
impressions, this isn’t likely to be getting much play in 2010 or
beyond. The third and fourth tracks on Vertical Ascent may prove to
be exceptions to that critique with repeated listens, but I’m not
holding my breath based on my lack of continued enthusiasm for his
recent (re)work.
...
I've since listened a couple of times more and feel the same. This
isn't to say that it doesn't build nicely, it's just that it feels
like it should be going somewhere but the tracks just sort of stop.
Cheers,
Tristan
=======
phonop...@phonopsia.co.uk
http://www.phonopsia.co.uk
On 04/07/2009 18:06, fran...@thatamazingthing.com wrote:
This time I'm going to stick with the very brief as I just got it
yesterday and have only had time to listen to the first side but
it sounds top, maybe a bit like some of the Recomposed stuff, but
more interesting / variation.