MARKUS GUENTNER – KONTRAPUNKT
Ever since his first releases – Regensburg in 2000 and In Moll in 2001 – Markus Guentner has developed his own personal style: ‘deep, atmospheric and textured music, characterized by subtle but intense arcs of harmony and melody’. That style is the connecting factor on his recent Kontrapunkt release, even if all of the eight tracks were created in collaboration with different artists – each bringing his/her own style to merge with that of Guentner.
It is an impressive group of artists he worked with: you’ll find collaborations with Joachim Spieth, Karen Vogt, Sonae, Pepo Galán, Arovane, Benoît Poulard, Abul Mogard, and Hollie Kenniff. A list that guarantees quality in itself, but each track on Kontrapunkt demonstraties that 1+1 can be more than 2.
Each track has its own identity – widely cinematic, angelic voices, sub-level pulsating thumps, overwhelming layers, dub-techno, drones… but still the album as a whole is very consistent. Which one more shows what Markus Guentner is capable of.
With Kontrapunkt, Guentner returns to the A Strangely Isolated Place label, on which he previously released four album between 2015 and 2021. It is physically released as a black-marbled white+blue double album in a gatefold sleeve. And also available digitally, of course
JOACHIM SPIETH – RETRACE
We already met Joachim Spieth in collaboration with Markus Guentner, above. Retrace is his new album, released on his own label Affin. Retrace is his seventh solo album since 2000 – full album that is, not counting numerous EPs and singles that appeared on various labels including Kompakt.
With their meticulous production, the tracks on Retrace are as wide as they are deep. Retrace offers the kind of “signature ambient soundscapes that have come to define his musical identity”, but this time Spieth also adds extra layers of dubby rhythms, ‘leading listeners through a labyrinth of sonic possibilities’.
I could try to to describe the sound, but I guess I cannot say it more poetically than Spieth himself, so here’s the lazy quote:
“Like glittering drops of water, the sound elements combine to slowly filter through sonic biotopes until they extend across the spectrum in full frequency.”
Retrace is available as a digital download as well as on CD.