F.S. Blumm — Sesamsamen
The concept is quite simple: there are two compositions, one of which Blumm sent to friends for them to “have fun with”, the seconde which Blumm recorded three versions of, inspired by three texts by Björn Kuhligk.
The idea behind coop comp (cooperative composition) was to have a “symphony of friends”. Blumm sent his Ethiopian-inspired guitar composition to some of his music pals, telling them to do whatever they wanted to do with it. He received back hours of material, which were edited, added upon and then put together on this album. The result is very varied, and it’s not always an easy thing to recognize the “original” theme. The original version is a beautiful acoustic piece centred on acoustic guitar, with discreet electronics, piano, vibraphone and organ arrangements. A truly stunning musical moment. Version 4 features Greg Davis with a rather bleak harmonium arrangement. Version 3 is a great jazzy tune played by Jan and Wilm Thoben (Taunus). Greg Davis is back on version 6, for yet another dark moment, this time on processed guitar, chillingly beautiful or beautifully chilling. Version 7 is more engaging, thanks to Anne Laplantine’s glockenspiel and Blumm’s toypiano. It’s a very delicate and charming piece, a good conlusion to the coop comp series.
Leben Lauft is a typical Blumm piece that sounds a lot like what Plop usually releases: naïve, nature-friendly (if I may say so) guitar, organ and electronics piece. The second version is quite different, featuring bass a little more prominently, as well as vibraphone, melodica and harmonium. The vibe is still there. I prefer the first version, but this is nice too. Last track has Kuhligk reading his texts (in German) over Blumm’s music.
Sesamsamen succeeds because it’s not just the concept that is interesting: the music is too. It’s less good than some of the most recent efforts by F.S. Blumm, but it features some very, very nice moments.