- This third album from Berlin based audio/video performers Rechenzentrum is an engaging and intricate Pandora’s box of pleasure, pain and mystery. Coming four years after their previous album Director’s Cut, Silence falls sonically somewhere between avant garde composition, particularly the works of Iannis Xenakis or the darker tones of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and the group’s past releases, which have made patchwork out of ambient, glitch, jazz and dub. The change in emphasis comes from Marc Wieser’s increased involvement with the Zeitkratzer contemporary music project, though interestingly, long term collaborator Christian Conrad does not seem to be involved with the group this time.
The music is not so much sonically sculptured, but plucked, lured and unfurled from a melange of electronic sounds and a vast accompaniment of well placed cello, trumpet, grand piano and vocal instruments. ´Paradox´, ´Free From Care´ and ´Eye for an Eye´ all feature vocals from the group themselves, another departure for Rechenzentrum. The result is more mature and captivating music, especially when left in conjunction with the visual elements as intended. Video artist Lillevan has taken his major point of reference as 14th century Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, and perhaps more importantly, Russian film maker Andrei Tarkovsky, whose 1966 film fictionalised the former’s largely unknown life in black and white. Not only does Rublev’s work ‘Christ the Redeemer’ adorn the cover, but his name inspires one of the tracks, whereas other titles leave cryptic religious references, such as ‘Ignis’, Latin for ‘fire’ or ‘burning’, and ´Pantokrator´, Greek for ‘all-mighty’.
Silence also strongly references place. The title of the opening track, ‘Terra Incognita’, suggests the visual side of the package should be considered unexplored territory, which it largely is, while ‘Eden’ and ‘Jeru Salem’ help infuse an exotic pleasure and forbiddenness to proceedings. The colourless footage of forests, the gliding passes over wood grains, the smoky trails and thunderous skies fuse with the music to present a comforting pastoral lull, which then becomes unsettling once it is clear that the rich forms are devoid of comprehensible purpose. Instead, each track is revealed to be full of controlled chaos and hypnotic anguish.
There is a lot of detail on Silence which will reward careful attention and repeated listening/viewing, but perhaps its strongest asset is an intelligence and confidence that is neither alienating nor sterile. In the end, Silence will have you hearing in black and white, not to mention keep you thinking.
Lista de sequência de músicas01 Terra Incognita
02 Eden
03 Jeru Salem
04 Rjublevs Refugium
05 Ignis
06 Pantokrator
07 Paradox
08 In Exercitium
09 Free From Care
10 10 + 5
11 Expedition Existenz
12 On Return
13 Eye For An Eye
14 Vera Icon (bonus track)