Soft Abuse
Hala Strana : These villages (US,2004)**°
A colleague of mine suggested I should check out this Hala Strana release, where that he enjoyed a lot so I did. He is much more a drone-folk lover compared to me, but I agreed to give it a try. Steve R. Smith Steve is also a member of the drone-exp.group Thuja. His interests for traditional folk music and instruments of Central and Eastern Europe, reconsidering it from an improvisational viewpoint, letting the sphere mix achieve its own spatial creativity and moods, could be interesting. The music also starts strong with strings improvisations (starting with “Wood Scree”), then thoroughly fills up space with loosly reflective ideas. More than it reveals many hidden musical combinations, it thus still works more like drone folk ; it does not give me clear an renewing visions, but creates a kind of tiny mist in a cold city like sphere. After the starter and these puzzle-like combinations of fragments it comes to another more clearly forming moment with a group sound by jazzy double bass and drums on “October”. Then it starts all over with collages that work like drones. Three times an element of a traditional are adapted, like "Népdal Tárogatón". With some surrounding textured moods their performances is from a dreamy background vision. This evolves beautifully to the atmospheric concluding "For G. Mesmer".
I understand how my colleague likes this release. It builds up to one consistent release, and doesn't reveal itself too easily. For those who like drone-like atmospheric music this release I think will be rewarding.
