The Shift: Songs from Aipotu

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Martin Blume
Philip Zoubek
Dieter Mandersheid
Frank Gratowski (as, cla, b cla)
Thomas Lehn

Label:

Leo

June/2011

Catalogue Number:

CD LR 599

RecordDate:

2008 and 2009

At first glance, this is a collection of sturdy, square-jawed, acoustic Euro-improv from a handful of German heavyweights. But it doesn't take long to realise that the looming hero of the day is Thomas Lehn's analogue synth: a kind of supernaturally flexible Plastic Man, bolstering the improvisations by tying himself into knots and assuming umpteen crazy positions. Truly, it's a revelation to hear the notoriously unpredictable analogue set-up being used so powerfully and sympathetically in an Improv context. One moment it's emulating a wet-lipped trumpet, parping out little sucks and puckers; the next it's trilling like the top-most ivories being tickled; at other times it provides an almost ambient backdrop of insistent drizzle of tweeting birdsong. And it can take the lead too: when it gets heavy with meaty squelches and lysergic upward whooshes, it stirs the acoustic instruments into great, boiling gouts of activity. We must hear more of this.

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