Matthias Muche Bonecrusher - Densities (12 Trombones & Percussion) [Hat Hut Records / Ezz-Thetics]

Released in collaboration between Hat Hut Records and Ezz-Thetics is "Densities (12 Trombones & Percussion)", another fresh album conceptually led by German trombone player Matthias Muche who pairs a total of twelve trombonists with the sound of a prepared snare drum executed by Etienne Nillesen over the course of four compositions and roughly 45 minutes with this release. Opening with "Butter - BC" we see the ensemble tackling a sonic construct built from slowly morphing and emerging glacial dronings on the verge of both Dark Ambient and Deep Listening Music evolving into a tense eerie quasi-crescendo of sorts which sees the previously aligned instruments falling out of line in a rather uncanny and off-kilter fashion whereas "Quater - BC" as a follow up provides an ebb and flow of raw, dark and danger heralding movements mostly within the instruments lower registers, creating a brooding and claustrophic listening experience at times garnished by Free and Jazz-informed solo excursions before later fading out in a surprisingly calm and peaceful manner. Furthermore the Matthias Müller composed "Up & Down" provides precisely executed dynamic movements of the exact nature the pieces title describes whilst Johannes Bauer's "Brass Breath Brisk (For Ensemble)" opens up with a rather intense and somewhat nerve-wrecking outburst and further progresses in an exploration of slightly off-kilter or openly disharmonic layerings, siren'esque swirls alongside other unsettling and otherworldly movements only occasionally interrupted by brief moments of ease - or near silence even - before taking a short detour toward Free Jazz / Improv and finally coming full circle in terms of raw unfiltered intensity. One for an Avantgarde-informed audience, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!