CD Feature/ mha: "s/t"
TobiasYet another hot contender for the title of most gorgeous 3’’ disc of the year. This untitled EP comes in an oblong heavy paper pack with a front cover made of transparent foil depicting a summerly still life at the border of a lake. The music contained inside is a perfect reflection of that mood: Sweet, dreamy and delicate, this is a moment of quiet bliss turned sound.
On one hand, we could leave it at that and end the review right here. Why waste so many words, when all you need to know is embedded in the first paragraph? Then again, there is so much more to this disc than just your typical metaphors of nature that it would seem a crime ignoring the compositional depth involved. “mha” is an organic acoustic statement, its two untitled tracks rotating around the sounds of guitars, bass, glockenspiel and various field recordings as well as the treated reverberations of their gentle aftermath. In the opening minutes of the first piece, this adds up to various microdrones, hushed little motives, lovingly struck chords and long, sustained tones forming a longing melodic arch. This is not where it ends, however, as the work suddenly sheds its glistening surface, sinking into a sombre passage and placing all of its constituent elements in a new light: What formerly seemed charming and endearing now comes across as melancholic and filled with sorrow. Deep bass notes sigh mournfully and the tracks loops itself into a wishful dream. Similarly, the second track opens with embracing candyfloss clouds, before opening up the scars and tearing the music down into its deformed mirror image. In stark contrast to many other drone offerings, mha plays with tonal variations much more, using sudden root note changes for seemless mood swings.
The only thing we could possibly complain about is time: At a mere twenty minutes, this haze is over sooner than anyone could possibly wish for. On the aposiopese label site, however, there is a yet another untitled release by this mysterious project available for free download. and a quick listen has already suggested that there is more of where this one came from. Only lacking the beautiful packaging, of course.
By Tobias Fischer
Homepage: Aposiopese Recirds
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