Title: Nuit Blanche
Artist: Hegemund
Genre: Acoustic / Electronic
Release Date: 16th April 2010
Label: Rebecca & Nathan
Album Review
HEGEMUND is the result of the collaboration of two German musicians, starting it in Los Angeles some time back. Both artists very quickly found a common ground to work from. In this case being modern arts and master drawings, as well as 90s destructured electronic music. So it came to pass that they recorded and released their first album 'tollmannhildenbeutel' in 1995 and spent a funny night, stuck in a jeep in a national park, surrounded by rattle snakes and other nice creatures when going about shooting the video clip to 'Isn't It A Funny Bird?'. After relocating to Paris, the duo started collecting sounds and samples for what was to become 'Nuit Blanche', seeing its release on 16th April 2010.
A needle touches down on a vinyl record, crackling becomes audible and a piano starts playing to minimalist electronics on the title track of the new effort 'Nuit Blanche'. Expressionistic classical monuments soon form around a saxophone that disappears as fast as it came and the stage is left to the classical arrangements writing a melancholic and dramatic poem for your ears. The scenery changes; we can see a café on a crowded place and the metro speeds by, people are talking and from the background a lofty rhythm sneaks in to an exhilarating acoustic guitar. These are the beginnings of the second track 'Paris, Paris', equalling a sonic collage mirroring a specific day in the lives of the two musicians, and the musical score fits the spirit of the field recordings perfectly. Slowly a glockenspiel is phasing in, while in the distance the last echoes of many cars passing by are being used as a backdrop for the 'Interlude'. As simple as it is effective! 'In The Kitchen' right from the start goes for a structured approach and is in the vein of past Jazz composers, albeit those didn't have electronic means at hand like those used in here with subtlety.
That approach I just wrote about continues on 'In My Eyes', only in an unforeseen way and not conform to any usual listening habits. That starts with the odd time signature of the rhythm, on to the variety of samples used, putting the music in a similar corner as musique conrete, but with a distinct pop appeal. Kind of tough to give a proper description of how that sounds! The short-lived 'Green Sauce' is the album's ending and brings back the vinyl crackling just as the string monuments from before. Contrary to the opening however it pulls you by the collar and pushes you towards a dance floor with a lady awaiting your coming. I couldn't say that I've heard something like the music of HEGEMUND before, and that means something as I've heard lots of different styles before. As much as the abstraction to normal music goes, after a little time there's a door opening up and once you're stepping in you find yourself in a kaleidoscopic world of sound and on each corner you find something new. You should have a penchant for music out of the ordinary though; otherwise I fear the door remains closed.
Tracklist
01. Nuit Blanche - 5:42
02. Paris, Paris - 5:18
03. Interlude - 1:38
04. In the Kitchen - 5:00
05. Ma Folle - 4:02
06. Home - 0:29
07. In my Eyes - 3:14
08. Rue de Charonne - 2:41
09. We don't tell you what to eat - 5:52
10. Green Sauce - 2:45
Line-Up
Gottfried Tollmann
Ralf Hildenbeutel
Website
http://www.hegemund.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/hegemund
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8 / 10
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