Szenariodisk

They Say...

Review by Marc Gilman, All Music Guide

Like many other electronic projects, Oval is difficult to describe. Markus Popp has had a hand in loads of interesting projects, from the minimalist/experimental Microstoria to the Jim O'Rourke and David Grubbs combo Gastr del Sol. On Szenariodisk, Popp puts his many hats to work in creating a cerebral, complex result. One hears echoes of the click-oriented compositions of Nobukazu Takemura combined with electronic-sounding feedback, vaguely vocal-sounding samples, and a plain old synthesizer. The music is extremely contemplative; it's too detailed to be background sound and requires focused attention to be fully appreciated. The track listing is a bit misleading, as it seems that five of the songs are comprised of two tracks each and the final track consists of only one section. It is nearly impossible to discern any type of link between the two-part tracks. Most tracks have some type of clicking in the background; this is especially true of "Episonik," the first track, as well as "Kardio V." The clicks provide a vague sense of rhythm in an otherwise timeless space. The second half of "Episonik" is essentially washed-out electronic distortion punctuated by bells that ring every five seconds or so. Perhaps the best piece on the album is "Par," which has an identifiable melody poised far behind waves of synthesized noise. This sheds some light on what might be an essential element of Popp's aesthetic: taking what could be an easily hummable melody and rearranging it to be barely recognizable. Nonetheless, Popp loses none of the melodic beauty behind his songs; rather, he constructs something equally as beautiful. [Szenariodisk compiles tracks from the two Oval EPs Szenario and Aero Deko.]