As a member of pioneering minimal/dub/techno outfits Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound, Moritz Von Oswald has spent more than a decade imbuing machine music with human warmth. More recently, he's doing the opposite-- making warm bodies sound like machines.
Moritz Von Oswald Trio is his group of living, breathing musicians-- an all-star ensemble that also includes Max Loderbauer (NSI, Sun Electric) and percussionist Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay). It's a unique concept: a live band that performs minimalist dance music-- well dressed, clean-shaven, and ready to jam.
Horizontal Structures is the group's second studio LP, following a debut, Vertical Ascent, and a live album recorded during an appearance at New York's Le Poisson Rouge. As with the trio's previous output, the compositions on Horizontal Structures are entirely improvised. The record's four long, languid tracks all stretch more than 10 minutes. But the group uses that freedom sparingly. The music has no solos and no dramatic shifts in tempo. A steady pulse-- typically a drum machine or sequenced pattern-- is introduced, then embellished upon using live instrumentation and effects. It's tonal, but never directly melodic. In fact, individual expression of any sort is extraordinarily disciplined-- limited to modest knob tweaks and percussion fills. Like Von Oswald's work with Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound, the music makes heavy use of extended repetition. The tracks may be jammed out on the fly, but the results are tightly governed by the trio's shared affinity for minimalism.
But reserved and mechanical as it is, Horizontal Structures is a very warm record. Von Oswald and his regulars soak the music in reverb and atmosphere. This time around, additional musicians augment the trio-- Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman) on guitar and Marc Muellbauer on double bass. Both toss a few swatches of dubby riffage and jazzy rumbling into the mix, as on "Structure 2", which pours glassy drones atop a percussive sequencer pattern and Rhodes piano tinkles. The mood is similar to electric-era Miles Davis, minus the fury. "Structure 3" and "Structure 4" make use of more traditional dub-techno elements-- burbling echo, reverb spikes, and phased hi-hat chatter-- but keep the pulse relaxed. "Structure 1" is an anomaly-- a loose, surprisingly abstract meditation that only gradually congeals into a rhythmic form. Though it's music is deeply informed by the club, Moritz Von Oswald Trio steers clear of hard kicks and bass. Where most live bands strive to deliver physical intensity, these guys headed down a different, more zoned-out path.
