Despite playing and recording with various groups for nearly ten years this is the first solo release by Norway’s Thomas Strønen. It is a fine way to start a long overdue solo career. Pohlitz is a delightful album focussed mainly on Strønen’s speciality of hitting unusual objects with drumsticks.
Pohlitz is multifaceted but not convoluted. The complexity of the music is down to the amount of detail packed into each piece. Strønen pushes the percussion not to a hideous level where only another percussionist could appreciate it but far enough to impress.It sounds like each track was recorded and worked on meticulously in the studio afterwards but this is not the case. The entire recording was performed live with no pre-programming and with no overdubs so what is on the CD is exactly what Strønen played in the studio.
“Ingenious Pursuits” is a storm of delicate sounds, like a pair of marimbas making love. A solid rhythm flows through the piece with chaotic but controlled percussion and various electronic squawks and blips dancing around it. This essentially describes the entire album but it’s not as repetitive as it sounds. Each piece has its own identity and Strønen seems adept enough not to play the same sort of beats all the time. He allows himself to try different techniques. The beautiful “E… Quilibrium” is frantic but gentle. It is quite stripped back compared to the rest of the album, there are no electronics or instruments other than what sounds like a collection of glassware and pots. The sounds nearly form a melody and the experience is almost trancelike. It fades out unnoticeably into “Mutti” which continues the frenetic rhythm before crashing to a halt and morphing into a metallic pulse. The shift in tone caught me off guard. This playfulness adds another quality of enjoyment to Pohlitz.
The closing piece, “Natural History of Creation,” is nearly nine minutes long and is the highlight of the album. Strønen slowly builds it up from a simple beat, adding more notes and fills to the beat as goes along. Before long it sounds like there’s a percussion ensemble playing as phrases are looped. When the song gets into full swing the music is hypnotic. There are so many elements to concentrate on that each time I listen to it I find a different path to follow. It is a stunning finish to a fascinating album.
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