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- Date Released: May 27, 2008
- Genre: Electronic
- Style: Electronic Experimental
- Label: Miasmah / Morr Music GBR
Chamber music chopped 'n' screwed? Sentimental minimalism? Whatever — we know it's gorgeous
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We Say...
Chamber music chopped 'n' screwed might sound absurd, but it's actually a decent description of Treny, the third album by Poland's Michael Jacaszek, which counters slow, mournful waves of string and voice with deft, delicate cuts and odd, against-the-grain dovetailing. The former lull you into an almost beatific state, while the latter disorient, tugging at the corners of your perception as if it were warm plastic wrap. It can be almost oppressively beautiful at times, but the subtle glitching has the effect of keeping Bathos at bay. Composers like Arvo Pärt, Henrik Gorecki and Morton Feldman are clear inspirations for these muted chamber pieces, which were arranged by Stefan Wesolowski and performed (on violin, cello, piano, voice, bells and the like) by a small ensemble before being rearranged in Jacaszek's computer. Slow-moving string phrases seep into a blurred background; streaks of white noise fall across the choir like a dust-moted ray of sunlight. In its materials and moods, Treny recalls classically-influenced artists like Johann Johannsson and Stars of the Lid, and Jacaszek's album makes a rewarding addition to that mini-canon of what might be termed "sentimental minimalism." With enough dissonance to keep ponderousness at bay, Treny rolls up two centuries of musical tradition into something undeniably gorgeous, and occasionally even sublime.
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They Say...
A casual glance at the brooding and beautiful cover art of Treny might lead to the assumption that it's either an elegant goth/folk construction or a post-black metal valentine (or both). As it happens that's probably not too far off a description in any event, since Jacaszek's delicate string arrangements and keening vocals set in counterpoint to the compressed rushes of electronic swells and sighs -- almost like a computer with stuttering breathing -- are aiming at a new kind of fusion with well established roots. If acts like In the Nursery have long established possibilities of combining classical instrumentation with electronic experimentation, Jacaszek seeks to send things further forward, with songs as prone to murky glitch cut ups and reverses as they are the kind of mournful passion that could have made this a release on Projekt or Cold Meat Industries as much as Miasmah, the Norwegian label that does the honors here. Maja Sieminska's seemingly wordless singing demonstrates her abilities at following in the footsteps of Lisa Gerrard well, while Stefan Wesolowski, who handles the actual string arrangements, and Ania Smiszek-Wesolowska acquit themselves very well on violin and cello respectively, a team playing in moody counterpoint song for song. Michal Jacaszek himself puts it all together with his unsettling rhythms and production, with touches like the water-drop echo on "Zal."
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| 01. |  |
Rytm To Niesmiertelnosc |
5:27 |
|
| 02. | |
Lament |
6:54 |
|
| 03. | |
Orszula |
3:36 |
|
| 04. | |
Zal |
4:58 |
|
| 05. | |
Powoli |
5:54 |
|
| 06. | |
Taniec |
5:05 |
|
| 07. | |
O ma zalosci |
5:32 |
|
| 08. | |
Tren IV |
3:35 |
|
| 09. | |
Walc |
3:12 |
|
| 10. | |
Martwa cisza |
5:14 |
|
| 11. | |
Rytm To Niesmiertelnosc Ii |
4:47 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 54:14 Total Length
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