Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent (2009)

ARTIST`````Moritz Von Oswald Trio

ALBUM`````Vertical Ascent

GENRE`````Electronic, Experimental, Techno, Live

YEAR````````2009

Album review from RA

Round these parts Moritz Von Oswald is the proverbial no-intro needer. Not only did his '90s output have an almost inestimable influence on a generation of dub techno heads, but his continued public presence as an electronic music impresario keeps this from being forgotten. How many times have you read a dub techno review that references Basic Channel? Here in jazz-band leader form the man heads up own trio together with Max Loderbauer of NSI and Sun Electric, and Sasu Ripatti, AKA Luomo, AKA Vladislav Delay.

The culmination of several years of live shows, Vertical Ascent is an utterly compelling and complex release, seamlessly fusing organic free-flow improvisation with the pristine electronic palette you expect from von Oswald. The four "Patterns" here follow a generally dub-like structure, where a relentless patter of midtempo percussion provides the propulsive counterpoint to heady, diaphonous atmospherics. The languid churn makes for workday ambiance, the mesmerizing fluid textures make for a repeat-listening delight.Since the focus is on exploring a restrained set of sonic possibilities, it's perhaps best to view the four tracks here as a group of variants rather than discrete compositions.

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