NABELÖSE - OMOKENTRO (CD-R)

""OMOKENTRO" is the second release of Ingrid Schmoliner and Elena Kakaliagou's "Nabelóse" that sees them blend their voices with the sounds of the former's prepared piano and the latter's French horn. Recorded in the big water reservoir in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg as part of the fourth edition of bohemian drips' "Speicher - festival for site-specific music" in 2020, this LP captures a one-of-a-kind performance, influenced both by the surroundings' idiosyncratic acoustics as well as by two very different social environments-with and without an audience. Spanning over 45 minutes, "OMOKENTRO" takes the attentive listener on a journey through time and space-not only reminiscent of the duo's music reverberating through the reservoir but also through the memories of its enchanted visitors. The duo draws on a variety of musical influences ranging from New Music to Minimal, as well as, occasionally, Greek folk music, or their own English-language compositions for voice in order to integrate them into their artistic approach. When playing together, they blur the lines between composition and improvisation while being mindful of the resonant qualities of the space and the people around them. The duo interacts with sensitivity and freedom to each other as to the environment and the audience, that become both a source of inspiration and resonant bodies in this process. Ingrid Schmoliner works with a piano, prepared with wooden sticks and even porcupine needles as well as e-bows to approximate the aesthetics of electronic music through the use of mostly acoustic means. Elena Kakaliagou invents unconventional new techniques for her horn, that make the instrument sound like the wind, the sea, or like a roaring animal; a few minutes later the well-known lyrical sound of the french horn accompanies the voice of Ingrid Schmoliner in a more classical duo." (label info)