The found sounds of Switzerland's Ludwig Berger create soundtracks for reflection. This is music that is nearly totally accidental. But it's quietly charming stuff.
Ecotonalities: No Other Home Than The In-Between, developed as part of the exhibition of the Luxembourg Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, finds the Swiss musician take field recordings and use them to shape a listening experience. While opener "Between Water and Circuitry" is punctuated by birdsong, "Between Wind and Wing" finds Berger using recordings of the wind to craft a piece which suggests vast spaces opening up. "Between Data and Field", the longest track here, mixes birdsong, the noises of phones or electronic devices connecting or switching on and moments of real stillness with just a sort of ambient hum lurking. It's engrossing.
The selections on Ecotonalities: No Other Home Than The In-Between are all based around a contrast -- battle, even -- between two concepts. And while the found sounds here are those of ordinary life, there's real, quiet drama in the way the birds chirping contrasts with a truck's exhaust noise. It's odd, but with patience, this music reveals itself. Highly recommended.
Ecotonalities: No Other Home Than The In-Between by Ludwig Berger is out now via Ous.
[Photo: Johannes Berger]