M.Ostermeier: Lakefront
Hibernate

A follow-up of sorts to his recent Parvoart release Percolate, M. Ostermeier's Lakefront inhabits a middle ground between a reflective acoustic realm represented by the untreated piano playing and a heavily processed ambient-drone soundscaping zone of electronic textures and field recordings. Throughout the half-hour mini-album, the mood imparted by the Baltimore-based producer's piano playing is wistful, melancholy, and reflective, while the accompanying materials might be described as mysterious and haunting by comparison. “Window Frost” sprinkles elegant, Bill Evans-styled piano playing overtop the crunch of outdoors field recordings and synthetic drones. “Recollection” augments its piano with shiny slivers of electronic textures and simulated cello tones. On “Overtone” and elsewhere, the piano playing naturalizes the pieces' textural sound design that, while suggestive of nature-based real-world settings, is nevertheless more abstract by comparison. Like Lakefront 's material in general, “Competing Memories, Both Correct” is less concerned with melody per se and more with establishing mood, in this case a brooding and ruminative one. As a supplemental reference point for Lakefront, Library Tapes is probably the one that most springs to mind . Any admirer of David Wenngren's releases will likely find much to appreciate in M. Ostermeier's too.

June 2010