ambient / jazz / krautrock
My mind is an absolute mess these days. Not because of the holiday season, not even because there are so many releases that need to be reviewed. I guess it's just a creative generalist thing. I got worse since I decided to become a novelist and then it got worse when I started to work on my second book. It's absolute chaos up there with ideas and plots flashing through my brain. Usually, music makes it better but not this time. This time music just generates more ideas and plots. Oh well, I guess I have to learn to live with it. Luckily there are brilliant albums out there, albums that seem to calm my mental nerves. You guessed it, this is one of those.
Lotto is an instrumental and experimental three piece from Poland, formed by Łukasz Rychlicki (guitar, bass), Mike Majkowski (double bass, hammond organ and synths) and Paweł Szpura (drums). With 'VV' they deliver their third album, a fully improvised musical adventure that beautifully combines ambient, krautrock and psychedelic rock. Furthermore, elements of noise and jazz seem to present too, as if Einstürzende Neubauten met up with Tortoise and Kreidler.
What I like most about this album is the freedom that these musicians have given themselves. Noisy percussion? Sure, why not. Subdued techno beats? They're welcome. Eerie drones and sound sculptures? Absolutely. And meanwhile you're floating on an immersive bass sequence which Tangerine Dream would be proud of. Needless to say perhaps, but this is not your everyday rock album.
On the other hand, I'm damn sure that this stuff will appear in my day to day playlist a lot from now on. I just adore this continuous weirdness. It's no secret that I am a fan of all things improvised and I am definitely a fan of Lotto. So yeah, I can only recommend this album to all fans of experimental krautrock and experimental ambient. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to close my eyes and listen to the album again.
Serge
Lotto is an instrumental and experimental three piece from Poland, formed by Łukasz Rychlicki (guitar, bass), Mike Majkowski (double bass, hammond organ and synths) and Paweł Szpura (drums). With 'VV' they deliver their third album, a fully improvised musical adventure that beautifully combines ambient, krautrock and psychedelic rock. Furthermore, elements of noise and jazz seem to present too, as if Einstürzende Neubauten met up with Tortoise and Kreidler.
What I like most about this album is the freedom that these musicians have given themselves. Noisy percussion? Sure, why not. Subdued techno beats? They're welcome. Eerie drones and sound sculptures? Absolutely. And meanwhile you're floating on an immersive bass sequence which Tangerine Dream would be proud of. Needless to say perhaps, but this is not your everyday rock album.
On the other hand, I'm damn sure that this stuff will appear in my day to day playlist a lot from now on. I just adore this continuous weirdness. It's no secret that I am a fan of all things improvised and I am definitely a fan of Lotto. So yeah, I can only recommend this album to all fans of experimental krautrock and experimental ambient. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to close my eyes and listen to the album again.
Serge
