Markus Mehr
Lava
Hidden Shoal Recordings

I checked out Markus Mehr's single Hubble 3 moonths ago, and here's Lava, the album including "Hubble" and eight more tracks from the hypno-experimental ambient world of Mr Mehr.

When Mehr's musical volcano erupts, its floating musical masses are really slow-floating, a hypnotic 'sight', as it finds its way around you, to your ears. He's building layers of thin sound, a distorted and fuzzed drone creeping up on you. Opener "Agenda", a 7-minute epic, sets Mehr's agenda from the start, spinning a web-carpet of sound. Welcome to dystopia, but with emotions. "Softwar" is a more distorted piece, a vibrant and power-chiming track. "Full Moon" (quite a fitting title for Luna Kafé's jukebox...) is marvellous, with its shower-flow of sonic moonbeams, and so is the aforementioned "Hubble". The album better be consumed in turns, as this is quite a challenging listen. This is a journey through harsh landscapes, but there are glimpses of green, signs of life on the way. Other tracks of fascination: "Cousteau" and the closing "Ohm". High-voltage impeDance-music for sitting still.

Lava is a fascinating listen. And, for sure, it's not as fierce and threatening as the Icelandic eruption earlier this year, with its stunning clouds of ashes that followed. Lava will not ground you. You might be delayed, but your flight will not be cancelled. You'll be taken to higher spheres.

Lava is digitally available from the Hidden Shoal site, and the album will see its physical release on 22 July.

Copyright © 2010 Håvard Oppøyen