Music that thinks about itself out loud. A hybrid, acoustic-electronic trio in a vein similar to countrymen Tied + Tickled Trio. Oliver Doerell (bass and electronics) and Roger Dôring (clarinet and saxophone) take their sweet time from album to album, but each time a new one appears, it is worth listening closely. They spent four years on the excellent Vertigo II and it´s been three years without a release since acquiring a new third member, violinist Alexander Stolze. Stolze adds another eloquent lead voice but is also a captivating conversationalist in the reflective give-and-take that characterizes Poems from a Rooftop.
There is melody throughout but, like on ´Manami´, Dictaphone often stray off topic for a moment as someone presents a personal exegesis or anecdote. The electronic colourings of Doerell, the judiciously chosen, subtle field recordings, samplings and even rhythms, give Döring both a fundament to play off and an equal partner with whom to dialogue. He is particularly poignant on ´A Bout de Souffle’ and ´Au Botanique´. There is also a Javanese element introduced on ´Maalbeek´ that recurs regularly throughout, as every second number moves to the appealing paradiddle of the gamelan, bright and plummy. On the title track, it becomes more texture than percussion.
The only song,´Rattle´, is sung by Mariechen Danz, who pulls off sounding as though she is improvising the lyrics half-a-step ahead of where the music is going at a brisk pace. The final track is quiet musing, the clarinet questioning, the computer and violin noncommittal in response. An immediately accessible collection of short stories which, upon further listening, turn out reallly to be a novel full of intriguing subplots. Even the disc and cover design is pleasingly simple at first glance, thoughtfully clever on closer regard.
Stephen Fruitman
