Microstoria | Improvisors
Sonig | CD
Microstoria's live set, recorded in the Autumn of 1998 and released on Mouse on Mars' Sonig label, heralds their third studio album 'Model3,Step2' which is scheduled for release in October 2000 on Sonig. 'Improvisors' is unlikely to contain any real surprises: four of the tracks are "alternative versions and reconsiderations" of tracks which originally appeared on 1998s '_snd'; with the balance generated as live laptop improvisations.
The sleeve's barely-there quality - with depictions of tiny artefacts made from detritus and knotted thread - make it a ready metaphor for the music contained within. It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss this unassuming document so lightly. Popp and St Werner's music is both engaging and affecting; consisting of amniotic drones (softened by a lack of high frequencies), stutters, and plaintive refrains. It possesses a random quality that truly allows it to live and breathe and its overall effect is contemplative and, at times, even melancholic.
[GM]
