16 voices against a gaggle of synths—Moritz von Oswald conducts what is commonly known as »sound research« in avant-garde contexts for his new album »Silencio«. In this case, the dub techno pioneer uses 11 tracks to try to find out where the differences and similarities lie between human and electronically generated sounds. In his attempt, von Oswald created the music in his studio, had it set to music by Finnish composer Jarkko Riihimäki and had it sung by the Vocalconsort Berlin choir in a church in Kreuzberg, Berlin. The choice of location was in no way random: When the voices and electronics (dis)harmonise, some passages sound like a lengthy, repetitive Gregorian chant. This makes sense, as von Oswald’s art has always exploited the potential of repetition. The aptly titled »Infinito«, on which synths and choir drift into infinity, is a prime example of this. The atmosphere remains oppressive throughout, as on the morbid »Colpo«, and has nothing to do with the playful grooves that the Moritz von Oswald Trio sometimes unleashes: nor should it. On »Volta«, the most urgent piece, muffled kicks throb below a choir that suddenly sets the rhythm. This is probably what Moritz von Oswald is looking for on »Silencio«: the exchange of roles, the dialogue between musical entities.
Silencio
