Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent

Scubadevils

Also posted this in new releases over in Dance/Electronica but certainly worth a mention here too.

I was seriously disappointed when they didn't play at DEAF last year due to Moritz being ill on the day. Great to see they have now released an album of their gigs together and from listening to the clips on Boomkat I cannot wait to get my copy...

Moritz Von Oswald is a name that needs little introduction to anyone who has followed Techno, Dub or any kind of electronic music over the last 15 years. Since the early 90's he's tirelessly applied his discipline to a range of styles and genres with seminal work as part of Maurizio, Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound and his own name besides a mind blowing number of side projects, mastering jobs and engineering work. His most recent project has attempted to consolidate the studio processes which have defined the majority of his output with a live or improvisational element as part of his "trio" including the capable skills of sound designers Vladislav Delay aka Sasu Ripatti and Max Loderbauer of Sun electric and more recently NSI fame. The trio have performed some dozen live shows over the last two years, featuring Ripatti at the drummers stool, Loderbauer contributing synths and live electronics, and Moritz in control of live mixing effects and organ. 'Vertical Ascent' is essentially the best parts of these live improv sessions, edited, tweaked and mixed to perfection by mixmaster Moritz (we hope this name doesn't catch on!) and the result is at once a clean departure from and a reinforcement of the sound you'd normally associate with each of the performers. Live performance and in-the-moment moods lend the set a fluid quality and the lengthy track times, between eight and fourteen minutes, allow the group to develop their ideas around groove based structures definitely informd by African percussive styles. It's no coincidence that Moritz is heavily involved with the ressiue schemes of African music from Honest Jon's. 'Pattern 1' initiates the ceremony with a slow heave of bass and tangled polyrhythms from Ripatti before blooming to reveal a menagerie of strange and unusual synth sounds with one ear on their Krautrock forefathers. 'Pattern 2' bobs into motion on a rich bed of subbass, providing a cushion for scratchy strings and metallic synth scrapes lending an uneasy and ominous feel, but also exploring the spaces in between with ultra-subtle mixing techniques and cleansing the space ready for elevation to the next level. 'Pattern 3' reintroduces more discernable and tangible rhythmic patterns, like the gaseous forms of '2' have coalesced into a gentle tropical downpour, with steel drums panned to the peripheries of auditory perception before a current of slow and delicate chords wash into view. The effect is sublimely lush and truly psychedelic. The final 'Pattern 4' is the closest you'll come to any Reggae influences (bar the dub mixing techniques), resting upon a bulbous swell of subliminal bass shapes the group delve deep into their machines to eak out atonal organ motifs and head-swimming reverberations designed to resonate in your mind long after the CD has finished. Much like any project Moritz is involved in, the sounds will live up to intense scrutiny for years to come, with each listen revealing layers of minutiae created by his intricate mixing desk manipulations. I'm on my 10th listen and i'm still coming back for more.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=191780

old gregg

ah sure, tis a good ear for the groovy sounds you've got there Felix

Scubadevils

Aha, old age has moved my taste further from the harder side of techno in the early 90's! Although I did love my chilled stuff then too.

This sounds great though, can't wait... love the african percussive elements too. Boomkat normally take about 5 days so should be through my letterbox by next Wednesday or so

old gregg

yea, know how you feel there for sure. I've been rediscovering the Higher Intelligence Agency recently and it's massaging my ears nicely

Scubadevils

Yeah some amazing stuff from HIA alright, was just listening this morning to Polar Sequences, a nice way to start a rainy day!

Have also delved back into the Fax label again lately, excellent stuff.

Scubadevils

old gregg wrote: »

yea, know how you feel there for sure. I've been rediscovering the Higher Intelligence Agency recently and it's massaging my ears nicely

Actually, completely off-topic but have you heard 'Power Spot' by Jon Hassell? Only picked this up the other day but it has feckin blown me away! From 1986 but amazing to hear the likely influence more recent artists such as the Orb, Biosphere, HIA etc etc could have easily taken from this. Highly recommended. Eno involved too which always helps...

http://www.discogs.com/Jon-Hassell-Power-Spot/release/104233

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI

Felixdhc wrote: »

Also posted this in new releases over in Dance/Electronica but certainly worth a mention here too.

I was seriously disappointed when they didn't play at DEAF last year due to Moritz being ill on the day.

Off-topic, but haha wow, I had no idea he didn't play! I really wanted to go to it, but I wasn't able to, so to save myself from being pissed off I never read up on anything afterwards, reviews or anything! If I had known he didn't play I wouldn't have been kicking myself for the last year for not going!

Release looks interesting, will definitely pick it up

Scubadevils

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI wrote: »

Off-topic, but haha wow, I had no idea he didn't play! I really wanted to go to it, but I wasn't able to, so to save myself from being pissed off I never read up on anything afterwards, reviews or anything! If I had known he didn't play I wouldn't have been kicking myself for the last year for not going!

Release looks interesting, will definitely pick it up

Haha, I do the exact same, make sure not to read about gigs I wanted to get to but couldn't - I remember last year when B12 I was seriously p*ssed that I couldn't go and made sure not to read about after.

This just arrived today and I'm on first listen as I type, really excellent and I'd say definitely gets better with more listens as per the Boomkat description.

buck65

ok man - 3 days in - results please before I part with me tenner?

Scubadevils

Well I was pretty impressed by the first couple of tracks but I did wonder somewhat over the last couple of tracks if something had gone wrong... that said, I haven't listened since so will need another few spins to be sure.

Put it this way, it didn't end with me thinking 'wow, that was amazing from start to finish'. But it may be a grower...

DominoDub

Playing the Trio disc now ...sounds great on my Headphones lots of hidden depth in a Mix of low end freq with delicate improvised Drumming !


On a side Note :This is a great "Free" nsi. podcast featuring Max Loderbauer from the Trio !

This week's RA podcast sees Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer showcase their trippy live show.

The Berlin apartment that houses Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer's Non Standard Studios is a quaint place that complements the oddness of the duo's output. In one room you've got a toilet, sink and a gold disc of Milli Vanilli's breakthrough album Girl You Know It's True (Freund worked as an engineer on the record), and in the other are two racks of vintage analogue equipment that would be enough to make any self-respecting gear fanatic wildly jealous. But while they may have all sorts of Roland drum machines and a Doepfer modular synth that Kraftwerk had a hand in making, it's their experience behind the mixing desk that helps to make their visceral and uncompromising take on minimalism and techno possible.

As well as working as an engineer on commercial projects, Freund has been steadily releasing his own electronic music since 1989, encompassing breakbeat, trance, techno and electro under various guises before settling on tobias. as the moniker of choice for his dance floor-focused material. Loderbauer's work with Sun Electric, Chica & The Folder and The Moritz von Oswald Trio, meanwhile, speaks for itself, and his obvious passion for both playing and tweaking his vintage synthesisers is the cornerstone of the nsi. sound. As well as producing some of the most inventive and aurally accomplished minimal techno around on their twelve-inch singles for both Cadenza and their own Non Standard Productions imprint, Freund and Loderbauer have also ventured into the modern classical arena with their almost entirely beatless Non Standard Institute Plays Non Standards record on Sahko.

Most of their records are recorded entirely live, and on this week's RA podcast we've got a recording of the duo in their element at this year's Mutek festival in Montreal.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=162

Scubadevils

Yeah this has very much grown on me now, should have known it would, especially seeing as Boomkat even specified it will be one to listen to a number of times!

Buck65, spend the tenner.