lemurA melancholy runs though these seven pieces like a thread of the deepest blue. Whether combining together to conjure long, darkly-luminescent arcs of sound or bursting into flurries of sharply-attacked tones, the overwhelming sense of sadness borne with dignity never falters. A four piece (Bjornar Habbestad, Hild Sofie Tafjord, Lene Grenager, Michael Duch) consisting of flute, french horn, cello and double bass, Lemur create an exquisitely-controlled music, drawing abrasive sounds from their instruments as frequently as beautifully-rounded tones. Notes are used with such care that one might imagine the players are drawing on a limited supply. The double bass and cello are frequently bowed together to create a rich fabric of sound, subtlety embellished by the wind instruments. The result is more an aural texture than anything to do with conventional melody or harmony. Each segment of playing broods its way slowly into existence and then, just as slowly, fades into nothingness. The scrapes and crackles Lemur produce often sound more like an abrasive kind of ambient electronica than anything produced by instruments whose design has not fundamentally changed in over 100 years; but listening to highly skilled musicians create these textures in (presumably) real time lends both a warmth and a spontaneity to this recording that would be difficult to reproduce artificially. Ultimately, however this music was created, its restrained misery reveals a lot of soul. --nick ilott.
:: Lemur/IIIIIII - +3dB Records.
