专辑简介

by François Couture

Günter Müller is the quiet type; he doesn't draw attention to his person or his work. Yet, he played a crucial role in the development of the electro-acoustic improv scene in the late '90s/early '00s, through his tenure in poire_z, his recording sessions with many likeminded artists, and his record label, For4Ears. By 2003 the time had come for a solo CD. Eight Landscapes could have been a recapitulation of where the man stood at that point, an exhibit of his tried and tested techniques -- and some listeners will wish it were. Instead, it represents a springboard toward new adventures. Müller's work on selected percussion (i.e., one or two instruments closely miked and wired to a number of effects to get the most sounds out of the simplest gestures) is less central to the music, while computer processing takes much more room. Müller extensively reworked some direct-to-disc recordings. The pieces crackle and buzz, rarely hinting at anything percussive. Some of them (the third and sixth, for instance) are relatively busy considering the artist's average output, and can even compare to some of poire_z's material. They sound closer to Repeat's Pool than, say, Müller and Lê Quan Ninh's La Voyelle Liquide. Giving the album its cohesion are eight landscapes: eight pictures taken during a flight from Colorado Springs to Chicago. All in shades of grey, they look more like cement sculptures than land, mirroring the way Müller transforms the sounds of his percussion instruments. These dense ambient pieces share the alien aesthetic of the artwork and provide a fascinating listen that will surprise many Müller followers.