Background/Info: Ant-Zen owner Stefan
Alt strikes back with his second full length in 2 years. After the exciting
“Invisible” (2018) he unleashed eight new tracks at the end of 2019 . The album
is a rather conceptual work where Stefan Alt pays ‘homage to life in the
present moment’, which means that every single moment is unique.
Content:
Salt moves on there
where “Invisible” stopped. It’s a new sonic exploration and a kind of sonic
window from the different music styles Ant-Zen are dealing with for years now.
The tracks are definitely experimental, but each composition is accentuated by
a different style or influence. It can be a mix of d’n’b and glitch, but the
next track moves into dubby rhythms with noise arrangements. I also noticed
industrial elements merged with minimal-electro while the last track sounds
more into ritual fields. There also is a cover version from a John Carpenter
theme (cf. “Assault On Precinct 13”), which has been meticulously transposed
into a pure vintage electronic experiment. The tracks are instrumental edits however
animated by some spoken samplings. The only exception is the opening track
featuring guest vocals by Geneviéve Pasquier and Tamiko Kawaguchi. Other guest
contributors are Gerwin Eisenhauer who played some drums on 2 cuts and A.
Lawrence playing ukulele on “We Never Sleep”.
+ + + :
This album is a new
versatile exposure from the artist’s sonic brain. It covers an impressive range
of influences and even if it sometimes feels like listening to a compilation,
it has something exciting because of its versatile character. But Stefan Alt
also shows a sophisticated approach in the writing. I’m definitely addicted to
his minimal-electronic work like the great “Assault On Precinct 13”, but I also
have to mention “Yakushi-Do (Part 1)” and “We Never Sleep”. Another noticeable
cut is “Yakushi-Do (Part 2)” for its noisy apotheosis.
– – – :
This work is more
experimental and achieved with noise arrangements than its predecessor, so in
the end I’m missing the IDM passages from “Invisible”.
Conclusion:
Who better than
Stefan Alt himself could enlighten the world what Ant-Zen stands for? Just
listen to the work of Salt and you’ll get the answer.
Best songs:
“Assault On
Precinct 13”, “Yakushi-Do (Part 1)”, “Ueno”, “We Never Sleep”.
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