CD Feature/ String Unit: s/t
TobiasDid you ever wonder what it would be like to hear music that completely lacks negative force, all kinds of brutality, bitterness, straight protest and rebellion? No, I’m not talking about sugarcoated lovesongs. I’m talking about an ocean of human feelings created by a sound so unique, woven into a heart- and soulfilling structure, that it not only engulfs your room with an athmosphere of warmth and security, but also your inner being, touching the core of your existence. If you allow it to happen.
This must be like the feeling inside the female womb, prenatal. But don’t let me get carried away before you know what I am talking about. String Unit consists of Dagobert Böhm and Markus Reuter, both on guitars and Zoltan Lantos, 5-string-violin. Upon hearing the first piece called Indiaespara on this Ozella CD, I still was able to identify styles ranging from Spanish traditionalism to Gypsy music to Jiddish music, all mingling into one beautiful harmony. On all pieces later, these styles blended away into a new one, which I will call in absence of any comparison the String-Unit-Style. For those of you who didn’t have the privileg to hear it yet, I will try to describe it: Innocent, peaceful, melancholic, but never depressed. Occasional rhythm and yet quietness, like diving into a warm and cosy lake being one with your surroundings and yet, an independent being in an environment you seemingly never have been a part of. And still, you feel at home. Completely at home.
Oh yes, what a way to talk about music. I know, these words don’t even come close to what you will encounter once you listen to String Unit. You have to hear this music and let this music allow you to get carried away. That is when you will – hopefully – understand what I am talking about.
“Half a Waltz” stands out by its pure beauty, its virginity, where the music translates into those positive feelings that go unfiltered straight to the heart. That is a theme throughout the whole CD. It reoccurs, in “The Lak”e and in “The River", the latter reminding me of a modern version of Smetana’s “Moldau”.
The last piece on this album called “Time” forms the synopsis of all that has been heard and said. It is slowly fading away, in a long quietness, that at the end let’s us listen in to some words spoken in the studio and a few chords played on the guitar. Synonym for a new beginning and also the endlessness of time.
String Unit comes to us as a safe haven in a turbulent life. It allows us to dream, it allows us to cherish and enjoy qualities of our existence in a world that would be wonderful if it existed. The String Unit music makes this experience possible for all of us, at least for a short while: A peaceful world without aggression, a world of childish innocence. If you allow it to happen.
By Fred Wheeler
Homepage: Ozella Music / String Unit
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