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LE POT: Hera
ByEvery so often, trumpeter Manuel Mengis wreaks some havoc atop budding song-forms and swarming dreamscapes along with Manual Troller's steely electric guitar treatments. The ensemble bridges lament with optimism along with keyboardist Hans-Peter Pfammatter's haunting synth lines and polytonal voicings. It's a wanderlust of tumbling patterns and captivating tonal structures. "Hamada /Requiem aeternam" is a Britten composition framed with disparate angles and a doomsday-like march groove. However, each piece stands on its own with many surprises on a per-track basis.
" Meanwhile" is a whimsical piece that sounds like a German beerhall romp with off-kilter interludes and other subtle shifts in strategy that amiably diverted my attention. But "Hey," is primarily a free form fest, pumped up by Pfammatter's bizarre piano phrasings amid the frontline's maniacal flurries and the rhythm section's undulating beats. In addition, Mengis' edgy muted lines and the keyboardist's EFX-based noise-shaping movements add a rather fiendish hue to the moving parts. Indeed, contrasts and unanticipated delights are in abundance via the musicians' boundless creative sparks and cunning aberrations from the norm.
Track Listing
Eyrie; Flint; Thus gamesters united in friendship / Ungrateful macheath!; Bubo bubo; Hamada/Requiem aeternam; Ranunkel und Viola; Badlands; Meanwhile; Raron/Requiem aeternam; Hey; Now until the break of day.
Personnel
Manuel Mengis
trumpetManuel Mengis: trumpet; Hans-Peter Pfammatter: piano & synths; Manuel Troller: guitar; Lionel Friedli: drums.
Album information
Title: Hera | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Everest