MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO
Fetch
HJR67
Honest Jon’s Records 2012
04 Tracks. 50mins43secs

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Moritz Von Oswald, Max Loderbauer and Sasu Ripatti reconvene for a third time, and once again, the mood is subdued and quietly hypnotic, carried by elegant stripped down grooves and vast and airy sonic landscapes. Like its predecessors, Fetch is split into four tracks clocking at anything from seven to seventeen and a half minutes. The basis for this album was recorded at the end of the summer last year during a four hour improv session which saw the core trio joined by Mark Muellbauer (bass) and Tobias Freund ((live electronics and effects). The recordings were later processed by Von Oswald who added contributions from Jonas Shoen (flute, clarinet and saxophone) and Sebastian Studnitzky (trumpet).

More so than its predecessors, Fetch is an intriguing record, which appear to draw on darker tones as it progresses. Opening piece Jam is the most outwardly composition of the lot, but its minimal appearance and finely detailed sonic structure makes it a somewhat introspective experience. MVOT are not in the business of showy performances, instead, they favour sustained endurance and resilience against adversity. On Jam, this manifests itself through Ripatti’s numbing linear rhythm pattern. Working in close partnership with him, Muellbauer brings a further earthy element to the piece. If these two provide a steady rhythmic flow, occasionally punctuated by random percussive effusions, by setting up the pace for the piece, random outbursts of trumpet, sax or piano are set to deliberately distract the listener and derail the groove, managing fairly well on the former, utterly failing on the latter. As the rhythm slowly disintegrates, the transition towards the dubbier terrains of Dark is initialised, but it takes a while before the second piece emerges. When the beat finally kicks in, it rapidly becomes obvious that the ensemble follow a much more sombre path. Slow, sticky and grumbling, the mood is far more disturbing here. The processing is much more intense and sustained than on Jam. Wrapped in thick layers of dub, it feels as if any attempt at sonic diversity is duly crushed so only the monotonous rhythmic hum prevails.

The Ripatti/Muellbauer partnership takes on a different dimension in the second part of this album, first with the clinical techno of Club, then later on with the more colourful Yangissa. Like on Dark, the instrumentation is severely restricted through the entire course of Club, but the piece’s linear groove is reinforced, on occasion, with more or less regular stabs of electric piano. A close listen reveal a heavily processed flute, buried so far in the distance that it is almost totally inaudible. Yangissa, by contrast, builds on a miniature tribal groove and two-tone bass line over which repetitive trumpet, flute and clarinet motifs develop. Everything is drastically stripped back later on, just past the half way mark, so just a kick drum and bass pulses remain for a while. As a trumpet circles back into the spectrum, the beat becomes progressively multi-dimensional again, and although it never fully regains its original aspect, it continues to drive the piece until it is slowly pulled apart entirely.

With their third studio album (they released a live album following Vertical Ascent), Moritz Von Oswald Trio have produced their bleakest record to date, but they show that, as an ensemble, they are becoming incredibly tight, and the addition of external musicians only reinforces their relationship. Fetch may be sombre and intriguing, but it is just the right environment in which MVOT feel utterly at ease.

4.6/5

Vladislav Delay | Honest Jon’s Records
Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD