experimental
Two years after the critically acclaimed debut 'Involves', Karen Willems with a new Inwolves album. With this project, the former Zita Swoon & Novastar drummer steps to the foreground and creates intriguing sonic adventures. For this record, she was helped by Nils Gröndahl, Barkin Engin, Stijn Dickel and Nele De Gussem. Also, for this record, Willems tried to dig deeper, experiment more and fully step out of the boundaries of so-called "normal music". The result is an ambitious album, containing nine songs that explore the vast possibilities of their respective instrumentation. 'Color In The Zoo' is not an easy album, but definitely an adventurous one.
'All Construction' opens the album with the same odd and unusual instrument treatment as 'Involves' ended. On one hand you can easily place this among your experimental ambient collection but to be really correct, you should also add a copy of 'Color In The Zoo' to your jazz collection, your post rock collection, your kraut, experimental, drone, noise and avant garde collections. That's a whole bunch of albums to purchase and categorize.
Then again, I think Karen Willems doesn't care about categorizations. She just wants to explore, although sometimes 'She Needs Air'. In a way, there is plenty of air, plenty of breathing space to be found here. Most of the music is calm but restless, soothing but captivating. 'Wonderwiel' is such a strange and almost contradictory tune, something between jazz and whatever it is that To Rococo Rot or Tortoise make.
On the other hand, 'To Louis Hardin' carries something bombastic, something cinematic and definitely something weird. By now, I'm starting to realize that is more than one step further into experimentation-addiction than the previous album. Frank Zappa would be proud of Karen Willems. He'd probably ask her to record another ninety albums or so. Personally, I wouldn't mind, especially if some of them drone as nice as 'Faith' does.
So, this leaves me with an important question: who to recommend this album to? Well, I guess there are plenty of people out there who like the out-of-the-ordinary, the strange and the bizarre. I think that also covers a majority of the Merchants Of Air readers. If you want something special, this surely is a must-have. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance to the energetic 'In Paradiso' for a while.
Serge
'All Construction' opens the album with the same odd and unusual instrument treatment as 'Involves' ended. On one hand you can easily place this among your experimental ambient collection but to be really correct, you should also add a copy of 'Color In The Zoo' to your jazz collection, your post rock collection, your kraut, experimental, drone, noise and avant garde collections. That's a whole bunch of albums to purchase and categorize.
Then again, I think Karen Willems doesn't care about categorizations. She just wants to explore, although sometimes 'She Needs Air'. In a way, there is plenty of air, plenty of breathing space to be found here. Most of the music is calm but restless, soothing but captivating. 'Wonderwiel' is such a strange and almost contradictory tune, something between jazz and whatever it is that To Rococo Rot or Tortoise make.
On the other hand, 'To Louis Hardin' carries something bombastic, something cinematic and definitely something weird. By now, I'm starting to realize that is more than one step further into experimentation-addiction than the previous album. Frank Zappa would be proud of Karen Willems. He'd probably ask her to record another ninety albums or so. Personally, I wouldn't mind, especially if some of them drone as nice as 'Faith' does.
So, this leaves me with an important question: who to recommend this album to? Well, I guess there are plenty of people out there who like the out-of-the-ordinary, the strange and the bizarre. I think that also covers a majority of the Merchants Of Air readers. If you want something special, this surely is a must-have. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to dance to the energetic 'In Paradiso' for a while.
Serge
