Der Ohrenspiegel

Dada-ist sound collage induces electro-shock to classical music.
 
The first of Roedelius' classical triology for the Swedish Multimood label. An artful digi-pack boasts a Jurjen Drenth photomontage of a shadowy presence stalking what might be the cochlea of the inner ear. The album title translates as 'Ear Mirror' and the 24-minute epic Reflektorium seems to echo everything that Roedelus has ever listened to. With a new 8-track recording machine courtesy of the Alban Berg Endowment Fund his work takes an added dynamic range: fleeting interludes of classical music jostle with shard of Kluster-like noise. Barnstorming organ runs and mournful sax come and go at satisfying intervals. Moods of eruptive violence and lyrical grace are perfectly balanced. While he seems to be rummaging through ill-assorted outtakes, you sense a hidden purpose lurking behind the chaos. Canned muzak, alarm sirens and found sounds track the Bezogenhiet (relatedness) of the fractured 20th century mindset while at the same time packing the propulsive drive of Beethoven's Ninth.

Source: Stephen Iliffe