|
When K Leimer is unable to find refuge in his own long thoughts, he makes music. Of continuous interest to the ear is Threnody (71'14"), which presents nine innovative works for everywhere and everything that lies ahead. At times psychologically loaded, the people-less, imaginary worlds Leimer creates have an entrancing effect. From the nakedly vacant, to passages of off-kilter rhythms and rhymes, this release moves through the smoky and textured to regal conclusions. Slowly bowing thick strings and spare open piano notes hover above the comings and goings of a crawling bass. Faint sounds surface into a distant mist of gentle distortion, while ensemble chords hang and sweeten the air around us. From out of another mental corridor, a gritty, scratchy clicking, followed by random rumbles, which seem to imitate the workings of a singular mind. Each piece on Threnody provides a gradual mental groove - the ideal basis for our technologically assisted dreams. When the tolling of soft struck metal sounds cold through reverberant space - it is as an announcement of the history of one track entering into the next. As humans we find it impossible to escape the past, yet with Threnody we are guided to look to the future. Resisting the intrusion of interpretation, taken as a whole this album is an enchanted excess of smart atmospheres and ambient production. Threnody places the burden of meaning on the listener. Any intelligent person will understand these compositions, but find them impossible to explain to another in a meaningful way. K Leimer makes this achievement seem effortless, as if the undercurrent of each song is a whispered confidence shared with a friend. He approaches his work with a point of view all his own. Whenever he does everything right, controls the chaos of electricity, moves sound in the right direction and place, Leimer can make something perfect. Just as fate whispers to the warrior, creativity will speak to those who pay attention.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 16 August 2018 |
