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CD Feature/ V.A.: "The Sound 1"

  Tobias

“The Sound” is not only the title of this 13-track compilation, but also the new slogan of the Ozella label, which has gone from strength to strength lately by diversifying into categories such as singer/songwriter, folk as well as winning over Norwegian Jazz master Karl Seglem. Samplers have always played a part in the label’s outward presentation, possibly because the artists on Dagobert Böhm’s outfit have been so much about beauty and the great within the small that their music worked best when consumed in small doses. So even if the sticker on the jewel case talks about “New excellent Downtempo Lounge Tracks”, this is by no means a belated jump on the Chillout train.

Instead, the album dives headlong into smooth jazz and spacy instrumentals with a timeless touch. You may have encountered some of the names of the contributors on “tokafi” before, but to most “Natural Frequencies” (the nom de plui of too-early departed Andreas Leifeld), or “Pete Alderton” (who appears with the groovy beat blues of Ted Horowitz’ “Evil was her name”) will be total strangers. Which is part of the concept as well, of course, since “The Sound” is not about luring customers with a few big stars, but about building a continous ambiance and providing the necessary breaks from time to time. Which may explain why Carsten Menzel’s Stardelay project turns up on a full four occasions, one of them being a delicately morbid cover of Portishead’s “It could be sweet” – his drifting and yet concise flickering fender rhodes fantasies featuring dimly wah-wahed guitar echoes serving as the guideline. Sandwiched in between are label favourites such as Henschkeschlott, serving up a menu of bar recordings, bittersweet accordion, sinisterly brushed midnight percussion, feverish bass pulsations and delirious horn solos, the easternly-tinged Shan Qi orchestra (which brings together Italian temperament, Norwegian sentimentality and Chinese clarity) as well as Dagobert Böhm himself, whose only two and a half minute long “Far Away” will stay on the listener’s mind for days. The overall mood is one of letting go of all troubles and worries, of enjoying the here and now and of loosing one’s sense of time. Certainly, this is a work of escapism, but a skillfully executed one and it grips you right away and won’t let you go until the end.

The blend of natural and electronic instruments works especially well, as does the inclusion of vocal tracks, speech samples and Asian references. The intent of remaining within a certain flow implies that there are no real standout pieces, even though we’d like to draw attention to Gerald Kukulenz, whose atmospheric style built around the constant juxtaposition of short melodic lines again shines brightly on the appropriately titled “Space Walk”. “The Sound” manages to convince both as a first encounter for Ozella-newbies and long-time label fans – and makes one curious to the full-lenghts from which these excerpts were drawn as well as a follow-up to the series.

By Tobias Fischer

Homepage: Ozella Music