Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Norbert M: _lat_nc_

116

Norbert M: _lat_nc_

By

Sign in to view read count
Norbert M: _lat_nc_
For close to thirty years, Norbet Möslang has been part of the now defunct electronic duo Voice Crack with Andy Guhl, playing their brand of ”cracked everyday electronics,” and adding his guazy, raggedy textures to such improvising units as Poire_z. That group also featured the drummer, electronics experimenter and for4ears label founder Gunter Muller, who is known for augmenting his live drum kit with a host of electronic setups. It is only fitting then that Möslang’s first solo album, _lat_nc_, released on for4ears, combines Muller’s dual commitment to improvisation and electronic innovation.

To create the six tracks on _lat_nc_, Möslang first improvised in a studio, then manipulated the material at home. It took two years, but the result is an ultra-detailed collection of pieces that scintillate the ears with thickets of static, bubbling sine waves, slippery, almost sub-audible bass and a host of beeping pulses, liquid tones and beating frequencies.

”c11” explores the mid-to-low range frequencies. A creaking, damaged whirr serves as a motif, while looping static, bass rumbles and sharp clicking sounds punctuate the space. “c14,” the album’s longest, begins life as disembodied, drifting, wave-as-in-water type sounds. Insistent trance-like beeps then emerge in the deep background, joined by undulating bass. For the next ten minutes Möslang adds and subtracts texture, subtly altering the background as he goes. Evolution is Möslang’s method; details first appear in the foreground, then recede into the background, merging with the growing web of sound. In that sense, his structures feel literary, as they gradually accumulate meaning, each sound adding and enriching the ones around it.

If the pieces feel literary, then it is not novels, but short stories that Möslang is writing. The listener is constantly disoriented, not knowing how Möslang makes the sounds, and the pieces’ ends bring no definite conclusion. It is this abstract quality that keeps many people from engaging with electronica. If you’re not a fan of electronic music, _lat_nc_ won’t make you one, but for the converted, its earthy colors, strange depth and raw, untended shapes generate an engrossing listen.

Visit for4ears records and Norbert Möslang on the web.

Track Listing

1.c11 2.c12 3.c13 4.c14 5.c15 6.c16

Personnel

Norbert M

Album information

Title: _lat_nc_ | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: For 4 Ears Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.