Dagmar Gertot – Os Lacrimale (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Abstract.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Cyclic Law welcomes a new artist from Russia. Dagmar Gertot already released a few productions, but remains a rather unfamiliar name. “Os Lacrimale” features eight songs, which are clearly very special in their global approach.
Content: “Os Lacrimale” is without a doubt one of the most surprising and ‘atypical’ releases from the Cyclic Law roster. You rapidly hear the work is mainly based upon a kind of free-style experiment with vocals. It’s totally improvised and features glossolalia technique (using an unknown language). This approach has something intriguing, even a bit witchcraft-driven, but still totally Abstract by the injection of real instruments like piano, accordion, horns ao.
+ + + : This is more than a simply unusual production on Cyclic Law. I can’t remember having ever heard a similar Experimental production –even if Phurpa also likes to experiment with vocals, but in a totally different way. This is pure expression, which reminds me of Outsider Art. The vocals are intriguing and sometimes anguishing when joined with different instruments or weird piano arrangements.
– – – : I’ve been never a huge adapt of this kind of improvisation. I imagine this kind of work as a part of a wider conceptual approach featuring a strong visual dimension like film, theatre, dance ao.
Conclusion: Dagmar Gertot has composed a work out of the box, but unfortunately it can’t totally convince me for its total Experimental approach.
Best songs: “Two-Headed Roe Deer”.
Rate: (5½).
Artist: www.gertot.com / www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004782136905
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw
About Dagmar Gertot
Dagmar Gertot is an experimental musician, artist, and performer from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Active from 2019, Gertot self-released a series of experimental works that year, including “Convulsions”, “Invoke”, and “Daffodil’s Erosion”, followed by further releases in 2020 such as “Five Short Insomnia Sketches” and “Grotto”. “Os Lacrimale”, also released in 2020, is Gertot’s first album for Cyclic Law.
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