Germany’s Schraum label has established itself as a small but fine catalogue of improvised music. Somehow they manage to find all those people I never heard of, like on this eleventh release Nils Ostendorf (trumpet), Philippe Lauzier (bass clarinet, saxophones) and Philip Zoubek (prepared piano). All of them were born in 1977 and 1978 and have extensive lists with whom they all played. Last year they recorded this work in Cologne and it was edited down to seven pieces, spanning forty minutes of improvised music. Its not easy to say which sounds is generated by whom here. Which is something I actually thought was great. The sounds bubble up from below, and none of them sound like the sound of the instrument they are holding in their hands. Lots of scraping like sounds, with quite some sustain to them, almost like drone music in Dreaming On A Cargo. But they also work more common ground, with a great sense of interaction, leaving silence when necessary and adding sounds when needed. In Hyperlinking even a small melody pops up in a great Cage like manner. This trio plays some great lush improvised music with beautiful ringing overtones. Excellent.
