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Artist: Lambda
Title: Weites Land
Genre: Ambient / Experimental
Release Date: 3rd December 2010
Label: Sonorium


Album Review

It certainly makes a change to hear ambient music made with string instruments rather than synthesized sounds. The warmth you get from Carsten Hundt’s contra bass is hypnotic and simply run through a couple of Boss effects pedals it shows itself off to be very versatile as a solo instrument.

‘Weites Land’ favours the sombre and haunting over the genuinely experimental, which is both a good and bad thing. Hundt is obviously an accomplished musician having performed with a variety of groups over the years. The clever use of effects on his chosen instrument gives the illusion, at times, of experimentation, but he never really goes outside of the box. Of course, this means he is less likely to fall flat on his face, but over the course of fourteen songs things begin to feel a little similar.

There are some utter standout songs though. The album’s opening number ‘Ober-Töne’ is a soft and warm piece that is comparable to the audio equivalent of a glass of fine brandy on a cold Winters night. ‘Renaissance - Intermezzo II’ gets nice and spacey in the middle with it’s analogue synth effects and plenty of delay to make it sound like it should have been on the ‘Dune’ soundtrack. ‘Hovercraft’ sounds like he has listened to a bit of Nobeu Uematsu’s Final Fantasy work - which is no bad thing - as the tempos changes and provides a different kind of atmosphere.

‘Geheimnisvolle Begegnung’ is probably the experimental peak of the album as Hundt incorporates a few interesting tricks and different styles of playing into the mix. ‘Android’ feels like it should be the title track to a steampunk remake of Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’, as it evokes the monochrome images of Maria’s likeness being transferred to the machine. ‘Osmose-Schock’ livens things up a bit with it’s grooving synth effects and basic drum beat, though it kind of feels a little basic and outdated.

There are a lot of interesting songs on here that really show off Hundt’s skills as a composer and performer. In fact, it would be a crying shame if he wasn’t hired to score sci-fi films. However, there needs to be attention paid to the standards of the production in a few places, and certainly to the layout and number of songs. Cutting four out of the track list would have given this album a lot more punch and a little bit of spit and polish would perhaps give it wider appeal. Still, it is a very relaxing listen.


Tracklist

01. Ober-Töne
02. Abschied von Lohra
03. Renaissance-Intermezzo I
04. Renaissance-Intermezzo II
05. Fünf
06. Klosterbruder
07. Hovercraft
08. Geheimnisvolle Begegnung
09. Parallelbewußtsein
10. Michaelstein
11. Android
12. Osmose-Schock
13. Ein Sehnen (Bonus Track)
14. Fall


Line-up

Carsten Hundt


Websites

http://www.streichbass.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/streichbass


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 7
Sound: 6
Extras: -
Total: 6.5 / 10

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