On the transmediale 2011 in February, when I stepped out of the Ho Tzu Nyen Special in the Theatersaal, I happened to meet Adam Thomas aka Preslav Literary School during a live performance. After the concert I asked him if he’d like to be part of my Collage culturel series. He seemed to be interested.
Last sunday Preslav Literary School released his new album Veer on Interdisco for free.
Deeply regretting the abscence of a medium sized reefer I listened to his tracks over and over. At a first ‚glance‘ I missed some ‚vocal‘ sounds that would have to give me some geographical, ethnic or cultural orientation within the complex drones. But Preslav Literary School is not to be related in no way to new age or conventional meditation music, though there is definitely some Zen in it.
The track This Good Lesson Keep has some ‚vocals‘ and pops up or submerges or veers out of a chinese lunch box. Next we’re getting some fresh breeze of treading the boards. We’re hearing something that could be considered as Gamelan music and a japanese(?) guy is giving some harsh advices. Are we witnesses of a japanese theater group rehearsing some south-east asian black market scene? Leaving the theater slowly through the back door we’re elevating majestically above some dirty alleys. Last reminiscence to far eastern dystopia is a cookshop with japanese lanterns, providing sinister gazing pedestrians with devilled noodle soup.
Relocating ourselves somewhere between stratos- and ionosphere we are looking at something that could be the geological survey of china. Journey continues drifting round the globe in north-western direction and approaching some cathedral. Gigantic church bells with miles in perimeter and immense organ pipes celebrating a static ordination to the priesthood. Slowly turning from divine to more secular sounds we are shifting from Cage to Brahms. At the end of the track we are just dust on a sunny acre. For the time beeing we’ve found our peace with higher spheres and earthly affairs.
Dirge in Marriage is more like a tron-esque journey on the surface of a harddisc and reminds me of the eternal Selected Ambient Works Volume II by the mighty Aphex Twin, who describes his own music to be ‚like standing in a power station on acid‘. A cold, metallic wind on the polished surface of a silicon wafer, with the ‘spiral galaxies of military systems’ above our heads.
Exut reminds me of the ‚Lady in the Radiator‘-scene in Eraserhead. Somehow three or four divine pop songs, let’s say e.g. Broadcast, Donna Regina, Stereolab, Sea and the Cake or Wunder (Karaoke Kalk) are taking place coinstantaneous. The best part of a pop song processed, filtered, deconstructed and preserved for 5:22 minutes. Part of a series of experiments of how to synthesise the euphoric secrets of Pop. Verweile doch! Du bist so schön!
Veer needs definitely some time, some ‚Brainwave Synchronization‘, but it is worth the effort. With ‚Unto the Voice‘ as a tuning tool you’re prepared for some adventurous audio experience. Check it Out!