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Christian Fennesz/Werner Dafeldecker/Martin Brandlmayr, "Till the Old World's Blown Up and a New One
Born out of improvisations and a drawn-out postproduction, this album could have been an overworked mess. Instead, this is one of those occasions where slow and steady wins the race. After four years working together, these three collaborators have created a serene collection of gentle music. Fragile melodies and ghostly atmospheres are balanced by blissful jams, all coming together to make a truly remarkable release.
The three pieces on the second disc (one of those neat 3” CDs embedded in a 5” CD) were assembled from raw group improvisations, each member of the group making one piece each. It does not say in the sleeve notes who has assembled which track but judging from the amount of glitchy computer noise, “Tau” is the work of Fennesz. It could very easily fit on to one of his solo albums but is not the most captivating work of his I have heard (provided it is him!). “Me Son,” on the other hand, has a very different feel to it. The electronic treatments are kept to being background texture and the instruments are left clean. It is not a million miles away from Autistic Daughters (Dafeldecker and Brandlmayr’s band with Dean Roberts). The end result is a nice, clear rock improvisation that is packs large amounts of joy into its five minutes.
These three pieces were then taken, re-edited, augmented, changed and processed over the course of four years to give the album’s title track, a long and spacious piece that little resembles the raw materials, much like the ingredients of a cake are very different from the cake itself. New additions, such as Brandlmayr’s piano and more guitars courtesy of Fennesz, add further flavour to the piece. Large spaces of silence punctuate the delicate and largely sedate musical passages; the mood of the piece is a million light years away from its volatile title.
Considering the length of time it has taken to create these two discs, it is unlikely that there will be another release soon but the depth and accessibility of these four pieces will entertain me for a long time. Till the Old World’s Blown Up and a New One is Created is a wonderful aside from three excellent musicians, showing themselves in a different light to usual and creating beautiful music in the process.
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