The Legendary Pink Dots' horn player Niels Van Hoorn and Mark Spybey ofDead Voices On Air have been collaborating for a few years now. Neilshas contributed to DVOA live sets, the 'Frankie Pett' album and theSpybey / Mick Harris disc 'Bad Roads, Young Drivers' disc. But thisproject, created while Spybey was a resident of the Van Hoorn householdin The Netherlands, puts the focus almost entirely upon Niels - hishorn playing as well as the various sounds to be found and made amongstthe pastoral riverside setting he calls home. All of this is, ofcourse, thoroughly digitally processed by Spybey, so much so that halfof the 54 minutes passes before a sound typical of a horn is heard. Butthe atypical is just as welcome here as the possibilities of the hornplaying are explored. After a few listens, I've become as fascinated asSpybey is with the sounds he has gathered and shaped. In the extensiveliner notes he explains the process involved for each track, howexactly he recorded Niels or what exactly we're hearing, such as micescurrying about the barn, a power generator, Niels welding, riverboats, distorted raindrops, an old jazz record, etc. Most of the trackssimply, slowly, quietly flow - presumably like the nearby river Waal -the music being something pleasantly in-between melodic and abstract."South Side Style", "Empress of the Blues" and "Stockyard Strut" arelittle more than beautifully melancholy flute, tenor and baritone saxphrases, respectively. A couple of tracks are a bit more mischievous."Jelly Lord" is a backwards, overdriven horn anthem for the Land ofClover, darkly underpinned by nearing thunderstorms. And "Scrapper Boy"erupts into a buzzing machine drone akin to Mika Vainio's solo work.Spybey and Van Hoorn have created not only a souvenir of a time andplace of their friendship, but a really lovely soundtrack for others toshare in. 'Klaverland' might just end up on my best of 2002 list.
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