Denovali Germany Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Denovali presents the second cooperation album by Italian composer, arranger, producer and guitarist Eraldo Bernocchi, in collaboration with Berlin-based Japanese violinist, composer, electronic producer and Tangerine Dream member Hoshiko Yamane. Bernocchi and Yamane have come together here for the second time after finding inspiration in the Japanese concept of "sabi" - an aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of impermanence and decay. It is often associated with the simplicity, austerity, and solitude found in nature, and is said to evoke a sense of melancholy, nostalgia, and reverence for the passage of time. The record, to match, is a unique blend of electronic and acoustic music, with Bernocchi's pulsating textures and Yamane's haunting treated violin melodies weaving together to create a captivating and emotional sonic landscape.

Review: Named in honour of an experimental silent movie of the early 1920s, Polish duo Nanook of the North are a unique proposition: a collaboration between composer/violionist Stefan Wesolowski and electronic musician/guitarist Piotr Kalinski that defies easy categorization. Heide, the pair's second album, was recorded pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and its' musical blend of effects-laden ambient electronics, simmering strings and acoustic guitar motifs was reportedly inspired by "wildness and untamedness". It's a genuinely brilliant, ultra-atmospheric affair that uses repetition magnificently (a nod, we'd argue, to American minimalism) and benefits from guest contributions from mezzo-soprano Margarita Slepakova.