Zeitkratzer & Keiji Haino — Electronics

This is the third volume of collaborative albums entitled Electronics from the genre bending, often noisy German chamber orchestra Zeitkratzer. This time around there joined by Avant guitarist and noise maker Keiji Haino for a mainly rather subdued(for Zeitkratzer's work) and eerier yet dense and complex journey into dread.

The first two tracks Aria I & Aria II are hovering morbid hazes of sound that are built from: restrained string whines and hovers, grim slow-motion horn drones, Haino's distinctive and strange modified choir like vocalising, electronic drifts, subtle guitar touches and general dread filled and alien sound making. With Zeitkratzer and Haino building a wonderfully feeling of controlled tension, strange bleak beauty and  all surrounding otherness. Track three Sinfonia starts off more mysterious and oriental- like moving into a dense fog enveloped bamboo forest at night with the chattering inhabitants of the forest calling around you. The track becomes more forcefully and noisy as it progresses mixing together: dread filled horn voices, malevolent string hazes, sinister & drunken electro serenades,building-up percussive runs and shots of wailing guitar craft- as the if the forest is slowly but surely coming into violent and complex life around you as you walk through.

The last Bonus track Drum Duo moves away from the vibe the other tracks & starts off more skeletal, open and less tense with percussive hits mixed with twanging oriental tone; as the track warms up it builds up into a web of complex percussive runs with quite a rock feel to them. It’s interesting enough but doesn’t have presence of the other tracks, but it only last just over 8 minutes so it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. All in all the  album as a whole is a highly creative and rewarding collaboration that at it’s best summons up a great feeling of tension, dread & alien beauty.