Ed, Mattias, Nils Petter and Daniel

Höchst faszinierend, wie diese Suite in einem Flow als ein klassisches Album workt. Wie ich las, gab eine Depression im Zuge der Entwicklung im Jahr 2020 Ed O’Brien Anstoß für die Arbeit an Blue Morpho. Und mit diesem Hintergrundwissen ist es gleich nochmal eindrucksvoller, wie diese sieben subtil ausufernden Stücke vielschichtig eine inspirierende Erfahrung, einen persönlichen, sozusagen inneren Weg nacherleben lassen. Ich meine, ich greife nicht zu hoch, wenn ich nach einigen Hördurchgängen dieses Albums von einem Meisterwerk spreche, das im aktuellen Jahr den Status eines Klassikers verdient hat und womöglich das beste Radiohead-Album seit fast 20 Jahren ist. 

(ingo j biermann)

While the A-side of the Mattias de Craene & Black Koyo album is more up tempo, the B-side has a slightly different feeling: a quieter and dream like assembly of different soundscapes, of chants that gives a sense of a physical place. A Bridge of Dust and Air is a collage of textures, abrupt digital noise as If captured from a signal station: Background chants, almost whispering voices and distant singing; field recordings from Mattias´ visits in Marocco that includes the sound of waves, sounds from the minaret, bird calls and children playing. A project like this has many layers: the traditional music inherited from generations of players that has been developing through migration and in meetings with other traditions; Mattias de Craene´s search for a spirituality in music; New technology and ancient traditions. Neither jazz nor world music, but an assembly of what resonates within himself.

(jan bang)

These are our „albums of July“. Looking forward to August, our monthly revelations will probably be Nils Petter Molvaer‘s „Be Quiet“ (presented by Jan Bang, who was on the mixing desk, too) and Daniel Lanois‘ „Belladonna Nocturne“ (highly recommended by myself). „I am very curious if there will be song albums this year that will impress you to the same degree or even more than Lambchop‘s Punching The Clown will possibly do.“ This I emailed to Jan Bang, and his answer was: „Haven’t heard the Lambchop album yet, but the Ed O’Brien song «Incantations» comes close to brilliance.“

(m.e.)