New LP of Moritz von Oswald Trio branded jazz just dropped, which is good news for all us chinstrokers who smoked too much in high-school and always fancied themselves getting in to red wine one day. And as sarcastic as that sounds, we are actually genuinely stoked to be playing this.
Moritz von Oswald needs little introduction. Underneath his guidance, as half of Basic Channel (as well as alias Maurizio) and Rhythm & Sound with Mark Ernestus, new directions for both techno and reggae were created. The dub strain of techno music was born from the duos work in the nineties, and Oswald’s work ethic and multi-instrumentalist background continually pushed him to reapply his production abilities to new projects, often with a trademark minimal approach.
For a nice introduction to some of the work you can check out Vangelis doing a strictly Rhythm & Sound mix here: https://awkmo.co/the-vangelis-rhythm-sound-burial-mix/
The musical landscape that we love wouldn’t be the same without Oswald. And Moritz von Oswald Trio remains, in my opinion, his epic peak. Over the years the sound has changed slightly, moving in and out of different levels of live sounds and electronics, weighted effects and empty areas of spacial exploration, never disappointing with the end product.
Moritz von Oswald Trio currently consists of Max Loderbauer, Tony Allen and Moritz himself – three names strong enough to push plates on their own all vibing off each other on this one. And that’s part of what will surprise you, that three strong forces such as this can combine in to individual anonymity to create a totally unique jazz sound.
Sounding Lines strikes out as the most restrained and arguably polished records of the catalogue. It’s just phenomenal. With Oswald conducting Loderbauer and Allen the tracks grow organically, no rush to get to the end or to peak, just an incredible sonic palette led by the great Tony Allen’s afro-bop styled percussion.
Double LP with eight cuts in total including a 27 second interlude, it’s a proper full length album with mostly lengthy tracks. And released on Honest Jon’s Records you know it’s going to look nice and be a quality pressing, and with Villalobos on mixing duties the minimal spirit is bound to shine through.
via Honest Jon’s
The Moritz Von Oswald Trio opens a new chapter. There’s a new configuration to the project, with Tony Allen joining original members Moritz von Oswald and Max Loderbauer. Allen, the legendary drummer who’s amassed a formidable catalogue both as a solo artist and as part of Fela Kuti’s band, has taken over percussion duties from Vladislav Delay.
Together, von Oswald, Loderbauer and Allen form something close to a dream team, two masters of the electronic sphere meeting an afrobeat pioneer. Allen had already established a rapport with the group before they entered the studio to record Sounding Lines – he’s been touring with von Oswald and Loderbauer for more than a year, playing live shows around the world.
There has been an evolution on each new Moritz Von Oswald Trio record, and Sounding Lines is no different. The album, which was mixed by Ricardo Villalobos, maintains the project’s trajectory – a fearless exploration of dub techno, classical music and jazz – but the prevailing mood feels looser and more organic than ever before. Allen’s imperious percussive work sits tantalisingly in the mix. His drums meet the electronics of von Oswald and Loderbauer in a way that renders the project in new, vivid colours.
There are 4/4 tracks, beatless interludes and complex jazz structures, with propulsive recordings (“3”) coexisting alongside more languid moments (“1”). Sometimes Allen provides flourishes of drums (notably on “4”) while at other times spectral synths come to the fore (as on “5”). Von Oswald, a masterful composer and arranger with a deep understanding of space, paints the crevices of each composition on Sounding Lines with rich detail. Individually, von Oswald, Loderbauer and Allen are formidable and hugely influential musicians. As a trio, they’ve conjured something remarkable.