The live performance of this sprawling piece, which lasts more than an hour-and-a-half, was commissioned by the Southwest German Radio for the
Donaueschingen Festival
, and later altered in the studio for this release. This is a complex music, difficult to listen to (particularly in one sitting), highly abstract, and difficult to describe.
Harry Lachner
's detailed liner notes (ably translated by
Friederike Kulcsar
) go a long way toward laying down the not insignificant theoretical foundations of the composition, which embrace parallel and superimposed fragments incorporating non-linear
electronic
structures, coupled with disharmonious acoustic elements. The music is often static and disorienting, with occasional voices, and common sounds annoyingly interloping among
ambient
sonorities. Sometimes it makes for tedious listening. At times, too, the listener might wonder if he has been "had" -- in the way that a white canvas with a single black dot might have first been perceived. While some newcomers to the
hatOLOGY
label, who are only familiar with its
jazz
-oriented recordings, might be surprised by this genre, particularly since it is described on the sleeve as "
/
free improvisation"
-- it has more in common with some of the modern
classical
works found under the label's affiliates. While the instant performance might be compared to the conduction experiments of
Butch Morris
, the
element is much lesser here, and the
improvisational
strategies are rarely inspiring. The best solo work comes, not unsurprisingly, from the minor contributions of the lone horn, saxophonist
Max Nagl
, the more ubiquitous electric guitar of
John Schroeder
, and the drumming of
Herbert Reisinger
, the latter of whose efforts often sound pre-programmed. ~ Steven Loewy