Lasse-Marc Riek‘s latest field-recording set is a matter of the cooked and the raw. It contains two tracks, the first of them (“Juringels Warten”) a composition constructed from field recordings, and the second (“Astra Park”) an unretouched field recording. Titled Das Teilen Der Flügel, the mini-album includes liner notes that help single out the elements from which it is built. This is more of a concern for “Juringels Warten,” in part because of its composite nature, but also because, as it turns out, of the intention Riek had when making it: “themes of contact, wind, insects and snow.” The track is largely tumultuous. Following an initial quiet passage, it’s a rousing, chaotic affair, with turbulent noise, rattling percussion — like the sound of a small raft caught in a storm (MP3).
“Astra Park” is, despite being a straight field recording, no less stress-inducing. Though it is a record of birdsong, this is not the sort of tweeting that serves as a setting for a romantic day in the park. The birds are so thick that they almost drown out the passing traffic (MP3). These are, as Riek suggests in his note to the track, the sort of thing that Alfred Hitchcock had in mind when he came up with The Birds.
More information at and-oar.org. (Thanks to mrbiggs.com for the recommendation.)