POLWECHSEL
Polwechsel 3
Durian
016-2
Sound produced by the Austrian/British band Polwechsel has been described
as being not about tunes but textures, and with finding instruments' extreme
tonal states as they interact in a very narrow dynamic range.
True
enough, but as a new music group that plays partially composed creations,
the band is also about the anonymity of musicians. Even though the tones
devised on this thought-provoking CD are unique, the idea seems to be
that they could come from any group playing these instruments. That may
be the band's philosophy, but when one group member is British saxophonist
John Butcher, who possess one of improv's most distinctive voices, the
supposition is rather odd, if not self-defeating.
Fortunately,
the philosophy seems to be honored more in theory than practice. Take
"Schlieren," for instance, the disc's shortest track, and the
only one in which Werner Dafeldecker is purported to be playing bass guitar
rather than electronics. You can hear the shape of the saxophonist's distinctive
note and tone selection and be certain that the vibrations come from metal,
keys and a reed. Around them though, are electronic sounds existing at
higher and lower frequencies, with the lower ones probably originating
in the bass guitar and the higher ones in its six-string cousin.
There's
also "Mendota Stoppages," written by cellist Michael Moser.
Although it seems most concerned with different methods of expressing
slow motion creations, almost at the piece's conclusion there's an odd,
romantic-sounding interlude courtesy of the saxophonist. Still it's brutally
truncated by what sounds like a tape reeling running out. Was this planned
or were the other musicians, who walk the fine line between composed and
improv music with such ensembles as Klangforum Wien and Ton.Art, fearful
of indulging that emotion? Surrounding this passage, after all, is a concerto
of miniscule guitar strums, extended cello scratches and reverberating
metal-tinged breaths from the sax. Electronics throb first quietly in
the background, then loudly in the foreground, then vice versa. Stasis
also appears to characterize the Dafeldecker-composed, more-than-16-minute
first track. Beginning with whooshes of pure electronic static, which
reappear throughout, you begin to wonder which unsetting, often unattached
sonic relates to which instrument. Almost soundless in certain sections,
thwacks, crackles and squeaks probably result from string and neck finger
placement, while expansive air currents, sporadically resembling attempts
to contact space satellites, are likely from the saxophone.
If
you're willing to turn your sound system up and suspend a demand for melody
and rhythm, the disc can be particularly fascinating. Your points of resemblance
may be awfully limited, though.
Polwechsel's
self-conscious demand to be accepted on its own terms extends to the packaging.
In the past, Durian has limited its product to minimal notes, typeface
and designs on its CD sleeves. Now, however, its newest discs arrive in
see-through plastic receptacles, the exact shape of a CD, with song titles
and composer credits printed on the disc. Any additional information must
be found on the label's Web site. It's probably more economical to do
things this way, but it's still one more impediment between the music
and its potential audience.
--
Ken Waxman
Track
Listing: 1. Government; 2. Not Forgetting the Forgetting; 3. Mendota Stoppages^;
4. Schlieren*; 5. Floater
Personnel:
John Butcher, tenor and soprano saxophones; Werner Dafeldecker, bass,
guitar*, electronics^; Michael Moserm, cello; Burkhard Stangl, guitars