“In, the new release by Augsburg, Germany’s Markus Mehr, is the artist’s second full length offering from Aussie label Hidden Shoal Recordings and the first in a three-part series – a musical triptych – due to be released over the course of the next year. In this sense, In is both a piece and a part, and succeeds completely in both respects. Comprised of two long-form soundscapes, In not only stands by itself as a remarkably well crafted piece of ambience, but simultaneously sets the stage for deeper, quite likely darker, things to come.
Other reviews have made mention of the length of the pieces, with the tracks ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’ running roughly 26 and 24 minutes, respectively. Of course, in the ambient world that’s not really unusual. Instead, what stands out about In is not so much the length of the pieces as their depth. There’s something about the music that is not completely linear, as though the movement from the first droning pulse to the final burst of distortion is less significant than the studied exposition of each theme and texture. This strikes me as entirely in keeping with the title of the release. As a listener it becomes impossible to stand passively by – we instead become gradually situated ‘in’ the music. And like the anthropologist whose very presence compromises objective observation, the effect is one of seeing both too much and too little, of getting more than one asked for and being poorer for it. It is this immersive experience that makes In both a challenge and a revelation, an accomplishment which speaks powerfully of Mr. Mehr’s daring and engagement with his audience.
With regard to the tunes themselves, as stated above these are compositions of minutely detailed, classic ambience. Both pieces are reminiscient of Frippertronic soundscaping, with looping motifs receiving various treatments, disruptions and distortions. Yet where soundscapes tend to meander across some vague sonic landscape, the music of In drills down and takes root. String pad phrases are developed with patience and care, only to be intermittently interrupted and finally overcome by staccato bursts of heavy distortion. Spoken word, guitar and piano samples are employed to excellent effect, breaking up the deliberate rhythms of the music and injecting significant tension into otherwise patient grooves. Ultimately, whereas both ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’ employ repetition to a degree beyond the average soundscape, they are also more musically complete and resonate with their creator’s intent. Mr. Mehr clearly has a point to make, and after several listens, I could probably be forgiven for interpreting the whole release as a reflection on entropy and the seemingly inevitable trend of mechanization within human interaction.
Unlike most of the other releases reviewed here, In is not a free download and can be purchased from the Hidden Shoal Recordings website. Yet however much I like to focus on Creative Commons releases, I believe In is worth an exception as one of the best releases so far this year and one which will absolutely be appreciated by fans of abstract ambient music and soundscapes. I look forward to hearing more from Markus Mehr and eagerly anticipate the forthcoming releases in the triptych.”