SPRENGER, KONRAD - VERSPROCHEN (LP)

"Three years after releasing his first solo record "Miniaturen", Berlin-based Konrad Sprenger (aka Jörg Hiller) now releases "Versprochen". As if coyly playing off the various connotations of the title, which could mean "pledge", "promise" or a "slip of the tongue" in German, Sprenger delivers a more mature product. Rather than going for the short, abbrieviated, cut-off statements found on his first release, he's now opting for a deeper and longer spatial and temporal scale. These thirteen pieces with evocative titles allow time for dramatic development, along the way passing through dark emotional timbres which are then reflected in Dirk Bell's neo-gothic cover portrait art as well as in the choice of font. Sprenger spends years in studio production on his work, and the compositions show his attention to detail in their luminosity and almost tactile presence. The range of musical styles is as diverse as on his first record, yet the pieces seem less like ironic quotations and short forays and more like personal statements and explorations into various genres. As always, the instrumentation is infinitely surprising, including classical, folk instruments and electronics performed by professional musicians as well as the friends from other disciplines with whom he's worked together for many years. Sprenger has performed for years with such luminary bands as Ethnostress and Ei and the art group Honey-Suckle Company." (Arnold Dreyblatt) Limited edition of 300 copies.