<em>On</em>, the second installment of a triptych of albums by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr, stretches for a sense of monumental form as is suggested by the audacity of envisaging such a series. After only a cursory listening it is hard not to agree; after longer listenings the very scope of the achievement of this album becomes clearer. It opens with the bombastic ‘I will make you love me’, waves of chopped up industrial noise thumping slow beats interwoven with static and string electronic trills moving through the air broken by an interlude of an eastern string section. Then a quiet track, ‘Flaming Youth’, breaks the mood and builds into a static melancholy with horns and a wide palette of discrete noise. ‘Barcelona Waltz’ moves very quickly from the quiet to a dense tapestry of effected vocals static, drone and synth washes with highlighted melodic phrases and breaks of environmental sound.

‘Only for a While’ begins as an isolationist ambient piece full of long drones that tend towards choral effect, the equal of recent work by <em>Bvdub </em>or <em>Netherworld</em>, or any of similar works on the <em>Glacial Movements</em> label. If not for a brief burbling glitch mid track its epic nature is constant and the second half introduces dystopic elements that cut into the sense of its formation as a monument. ‘Duck became a Swan’ is attacks of noise wide spectrum, controlled and layered, high pitch drones and a lone trumpet rendering a mournful melodic element, disjunctive strings and a low in the mix downbeat drum phrase. The combination of all the elements working against each other in full spectrum dominance makes it a highlight of the album. Then there is ‘Olympia’ a schizoid brief assault of interjected noise thrills against cut up beat making a minute of inspired madness. ‘Monks on the Beach’ has the general elements of ambient collage, monk chants, found sounds, field recordings, discrete rhythmic touches all seamlessly woven together. ‘Tunnels’ completes the album with piano tinkling, rounds of melody, static interjections, water samples and assorted instrumental embellishments along with moments of sharp attacks on the silence before closure.

Hidden Shoal have quite a gem in Mehr’s work, its vision of melding jazz, electronicia, noise, drone, ambient and experimental elements into a work that grows with their fusing into a work that resembles something monumental and classical in inclination. Anyone who enjoys William Basinski or Christian Fennesz will find this a welcome addition to their collection.

<a href="http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/2012/07/markus-mehr-on-hidden-shoal/" target="_blank">Cyclic Defrost</a>