Ordinarily, you would expect an ensemble to play together. While the Decoder Ensemble, a loose collective of composers founded in Hamburg in 2011 consider themselves a ‘band’, this, their debut release, features individual works by individuals who are either members of or otherwise affiliated with the ensemble. Confused? The confusion hasn’t even begun, as the six pieces are truly bewildering works.
Reflecting the artists’ preoccupation with location, time and methodology, as well as juxtaposition, each piece is a sonic collision that confronts, contorts, breaks down and reconfigures these theoretical challenges. This necessarily throws the challenge right back at the listener.
Gordon Kampe’s contribution is as painfully disjointed, discordant cacophony you’re likely to hear, widdling electronica, operatic wailing, parping, bleating, groaning and a crashing riot of percussion: Schubert delves into the realms of wild, frenetic, juddering urban jungle orchestra music. Again, it’s a pretty wild mashup and hard on the ears and the brain.
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Friedrich’s ‘Flug P’ has hints of JG Thirlwell about it: jittery, cinematic, disquieting, tense and dramatic, it broods and rumbles while taut strings jangle the nerves. Sanchez-Chiong creates a nightmare soundtrack to unknowns horrors, and Hurt is all about the bold orchestral strikes, harsh bursts of sound smashing quiet moments rent with tension. Korioliov’s mess of noise and loops, bleeps and barks is utterly manic.
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