Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Cassette Review: Scheerling / Thaumaturgist "Vertoeven LVI / Mysteries van de Droom" (Oggy Records)



When I listen to what I think will be a split cassette I like to compare the two different artists involved.   Are their sides similar or different?   Does it feel too out of place for them to be on the same split if their sides are different?   These are the questions which go through my mind, but with this split by Scheerling and Thaumaturgist via Oggy Records, each side has its own title and it feels much more like two separate albums in that sense than it does a traditional split.

Scheerling begins with an ambient space feel.    Minimal guitar waves help the intensity to grow and it becomes a bit choppy.    As it calms down, whirrs and dings find their way in and then there are also some laser shots.   Whirrs begin to sound like skips on a record player.    Dramatic, deep sea tones come out and they take us into a wavy portion again before the side ends.   It's just this whole feeling of being on the cusp of going into something heavy, something loud and big, but remaining minimal and soothing, at a chill pace.

On the Thaumaturgist side we have beeping and electronic grooves.    It begins building locomotive steam and then bell tones- such as a xylophone- are mixed in with the chugga-chuggas.    Drum beats and laser shots fired take us into what almost sounds like words and then it almost has a video game feel to it as well.   With some more shots coming out here and there, this one continues to groove and really it just ends with a bit of chaos, which I really do enjoy.

If you were to somehow listen to these two sides of the same cassette digitally and thus on their own (such as one without the other), I don't think it would really take anything away from it.   That is to say, plainly, that these two pieces of music can stand on their own two feet and don't really need each other to be as great as they are.   

For all of their differences though (and one is quiet while the other is loud, if you want to break it down really simple-like) it is nice to have them together and with the proper placement of each side because it makes it feel as if Side A is the calm before the storm and then, of course, Side B comes in like the storm itself.   So if you were going to listen to these digitally or you found one and then later decided to listen to the other, yes, it might be best to keep with the order Oggy Records has chosen.  

Even without being too similar, which I feel like I keep typing over and over, you will likely be able to find something to enjoy in both of these sides as being a fan of one (such as ambient music) wouldn't necessarily exclude you from being a fan of the other.   So I just think this is such a wonderful split cassette because it is not only these two fantastic sides of music but the placement of them is simply superb.  











No comments:

Post a Comment