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dronæment: ezoterick muzick

"Fields I" was a true revelation to me and the best possible introduction to the music of Marcus Obst and Dronaement. Here was an album capable of applying the mechanics of cross-over to the field of sound art and the result was downright mindbuggling: a surreal and dense collection of interconnected collages, arriving on the wings of love but with the courage of shaking things up if need be.

While "Ezoterick Muzick" is not really a true sequal in name, it is very much so in spirit. Having said that, it is also, at least on a first listen, slightly more introspective and withdrawn than its predecessor.

Don't be fooled, though, Marcus' past as a fan of punk still shines through: "Morning" opens with that distinctive and always welcome symbiosis between pulsating drones, twinkling mobiles in the evening wind and excitedly chirping birds which suddenly seem to sing by notes and Obst celebrates "Trip to Surja" as a four to the floor psychedelic acid trip with an analog didjeridoo pushing the beat forward. You can expect the artist to be smiling on "Ganga" as well, a winking salute to the echo-chambers of dub.

The wide stylistic range, which characterises Dronaement as one of the few artists from his line of work who truly think different, has stayed. There are references to Krautrock and the early years of the electronic pioneers from Berlin abound, even though the intriguingly organic cosmic signals come in the much more digestable format of a pop song, instead of the 20-odd-minute excursions, which were en vogue in the 70s.

The field recordings which were clearly center-stage on "Fields I" (a bit self-explanatory, ain't it) have now moved to second tier and it is this feat which stamps "Ezoterick Muzick" as a more closed and secluded effort. Things change a bit in the final three-piece of the album, though, when the sounds of nature become an instruments in their own right again and engage in a dance with deep strings and powerstation-like rumblings.

As the titles already suggest, Obst has gone to India for inspiration, even though the album is kind of enough of sparing us with yet more sampled sitar songs. At its core lies an implicit desire to break free from the rules and assembly-line mentality of the post-industrial society. It is this dream and its unfettered realisation that connects all those different Dronaement works. It is also what makes "Ezoterick Muzick" a more than worthy newcomer in his discography.

[Tobias Fischer]