After a fascinating re-release on Temporary Residence earlier this year("Maander"), the Kollektief return to reinterpret some of those songswith a live band. and add a few new compositions. The results are amixed bag, but never dull. It's said that Thomas Weber, KammerflimmerKollektief's central figure, gave the members copies of "Maander" andthen asked them to come into the studio to play them as best theycould. Considering "Maander" was beat-driven electronic music, it'shard to see how a live band could rework that and come out with similaror better results. The Kollektief manages just fine. I found thereinterpretations to be better than the originals, but still lacking insome sense. Maybe it's that I like the music but it doesn't affect meall that much. But two of the last three tracks on this release, newmaterial by Weber and the Kollektief, are well done. I liked them muchbetter than anything else I'd heard from the band. The ambient wonderof "Kissen," for instance, is spooky in feel and in the way it buildsbut never quite achieves anything destructive or shocking. It's almostaural teasing, but in a good way. "Venti Latir" is hauntingly gorgeous,with violins and bass and keyboards that can cause the heart to soar.All in all, a solid release, even though two of the tracks are underminute, and really did nothing for me whatsoever. Weber got someamazing results on "Incommunicado," and it would serve this group wellto try a whole release of original material.
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