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CD Feature/ V.A.: "The Sound Vol. 2 & 3"

  Tobias

Last year’s “The Sound 1” was a most welcome compilation highlighting the relaxing and spacey side of Guitarist Dagobert Böhm’s Ozella Music label. Böhm has always argued that artists and record companies should not be guided by trends, but by quality alone – and that the style his imprint excels in (melodic, mostly instrumental music in between pastoral acoustic moods and timeless electronics) would always find an audience in complete concord with this approach. And indeed, Ozella has broken through on a European scale, but also in the USA and Asia, with Indonesian Jazz magazines displaying a remarkable interest in the filigree high-end sound created in the rural village of Schloss Hammborn.

“The Sound”, released roughly a year ago, yet again provided proof of the effectiveness of the Ozella philosophy, if any more was needed at all. Even though described as a collection of “Downtempo Lounge Tracks”, a genre crowded by two Summer’s worth of completely exchangeable samplers, it received rave reviews from all over the place, calling for a follow-up. Böhm has now delivered, offering two more volumes, each with its own distinct profile.

“The Sound 2” carries the subtitle “Acoustic Peace” and demonstrates the unmistakable fusion of Jazz and classical influences the company has become famous for. Dark, foreboding and brooding pieces (like Karl Seglem’s “Ritual”), fifteen-minute long progressive excursions with a penchant for cosmically epic structures, the pulse of minimal music and Hungarian folk are juxtaposed with the lyrical soul of duo Hands on String or Böhm’s “Far Away”, a plaintive nocturne of both great simplicity and intensity. The latter already featured on “Summer”, a previous Ozella compilation, but shines in a completely new light here, demonstrating once again how important context is in the evaluation of the label’s catalogue.

The third part of the series, “Downtempo Magic” is an altogether different proposition. Here, the emphasis lies on vocal Jazz, Singer/Songwriter folk as well as the occasional instrumental interlude. Mara & David’s “Masquerade” develops its full hypnotic potential in the dreamy and sinisterly groovy Stardely Remix and Pete Alderton’s deceptively smooth cover of the classic “Ain’t no Sunshine” reveals more hidden trapdoors with each listen. Textures are highly refined and polished, lending an equally discreet and timeless touch to these tracks and blurring the line between “real” band efforts and studio creations. A case in point is “Barbie” by Jake Playmo featuring Kathrin Mander, an uplifting fusion fantasy filled with brass impulses and warm bass propulsion.

Even though the first volume was thoroughly enjoyable on its own merits, the series has only really picked up pace through these two new editions in my opinion. A red thread is starting to manifest itself, guided by the coherency between the different Ozella family members and an intuitive logic behind bundling their work in stimulating combinations. Again, this is music to be consumed like chocolate chip ice-cream: Delicious, but in sensible portions. And yet, the superficiality often associated with Chill-Out is still as far away as ever.

By Tobias Fischer

Homepage: Ozella Records