On my shelf the only albums by multi-player projects named after the members must be by Flower/Corsano, Twells&Christensen, and Fenn O’Berg. There are more but those I received as review copies. Which might say a lot about how interested I usually am in what always smacks a bit like academic exercise, showcase or one-off improvisation. More often than not, I feel, such re-leases yield no more than the sum of its parts. Bottom line: If you’re serious about collaborating then make the effort to think up a name that suggests something new has come out in the collaborative process.
Little was I intrigued, then, when I learned that the new Sonic Pieces release by Insa Donja Kai is the project of Insa Schirmer, Donja Djember and Kai Angermann. Turns out I was wrong, however, as Schirmer’s and Djember’s cellos inhale Angermann’s percussion so deeply that the result is indeed breathtaking. “Insomnie Joyeuse” is one of the best modern classical releases I’ve heard this year.
I’ve read some reviewers complaining about exactly what I was scared I might hear, namely three astute musicians playing alongside each other rather than together but I don’t think this is the case at all. The three musicians have played with Hauschka, both live and in the studio, and it is evident that they know exactly what they’re doing as a trio. In tracks like “Red Reflections” and “Starglass Stones”, cinematic brooding is elevated by memorable melodies. Elsewhere, Angermann’s mallet percussion eerily sounds like a music box unwinding towards “End Silence”. “Synoise” contrasts hypnotic cello pickings with a range of tsking and chipping to create a haunting atmosphere straight out of the Kammerflimmer Kollektief encyclopedia of dread. “Yurnadev” closes the album on a more upbeat note, reconciling mournful wails with unbroken melodies and, halfway through the track, even a hint of italo western euphoria.
If this beautiful album still feels a bit centrifugal, it is because it’s hard to make out a sense of narrative. The label suggests that the album “moves us through the three musicians’ passions”, which to me sounds like a topical attempt to retrace a dotted line. “Insomnie Joyeuse” is opened by a track entitled “Expansion II” and lines up track titles in various languages. There’s little attempt at closure, resulting in a mere collection of timeless gems. And I can certainly live with that.
