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Weserbergland — Sacrae Symphoniae Nr. 1
(Apollon Records ARP060, 2022, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-09-02

Sacrae Symphoniae Nr. 1 Cover art

After a debut album that leaned largely on classic krautrock sounds and a followup consisting of an album-length sound collage, I knew better than to have expectations about what Ketil Vestrum Einarsen’s Weserbergland project might come up with. Sacrae Symphoniae Nr. 1 continues very much in the line of Am Ende der Welt, consisting of a 39 minute piece (split in two for the LP version) that flows seamlessly through many changes, rarely latching onto anything that could be called a theme or melody in any real way. In addition to composition, Einarsen is credited with synth, computer, and live effects, with the rest of the sound originating from various guests: Gaute Storsve (guitar), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass), Vetle Larsen (drums), Jan Terje Augestad (piano), Filippo Tramontana (French horn), Manuel Domènech (oboe), Jørgen Mathisen (saxophone), and Maria Grigoryeva (violin). The way the music is arranged, the instruments are often difficult to make out, being obscured by processing and chaotic noises. At times it sounds like there’s a chamber ensemble playing somewhere, but their music is obscured by an intense blizzard of electronic noise and (maybe) cymbal rolls. Then a sudden shift will bring pounding drums and throbbing fuzz bass, though the tempo is obscure. The woodwinds provide long tones wandering around in key, seemingly independent of each other, then the drums come in with an almost motorik beat in six-four and the bass provides a pedal tone while the guitar plays heavily distorted notes and the winds continue with their long notes. There are other stretches where a supremely fuzzed bass wanders around accompanied by white noise and high clusters of notes resembling a string synth. Needless to say, this leans into the infamous category of “difficult music,” though after repeated listens I find much of it has a kind of rough beauty to it, like glimpses of order seen through swirling chaos. Anyone who thinks this sounds appealing can check it out on Bandcamp (link below), but be aware that repeated listens may be needed to reveal the music’s true nature.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Weserbergland, Gaute Storsve

More info
http://weserbergland.bandcamp.com/album/sacrae-symphoniae-nr-1-2

 

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