Erik Wøllo & Bernhard Wöstheinrich - Weltenuhr (2014)

Norwegian ambient guitarist Erik Wøllo and German synthesist Bernhard Wöstheinrich are familiar names to aficionados of the DiN label. They previously collaborated in 2009 on the album Arcadia Borealis but have also been involved in several other DiN project collaborations. Most notably Wøllo in conjunction with DiN label boss Ian Boddy on Frontiers and Wöstheinrich also with Boddy on Moiré.

During a visit to Germany in 2010 to attend the Schallwelle Prize ceremony for which Arcadia Borealis had been nominated Erik spent some time with Bernhard working on new ideas for a follow up album. Due to the busy work schedule of both musicians the gestation of this project grew intermittently over the next three years. They exchanged ideas and gradually those initial sketches coalesced into their second collaborative album Weltenuhr (German for World Clock).

Pushing the boundaries of ambient electronica there is a strong vocal presence to the album with a beautiful, haunting female voice on the opener Gales as well as the albums title track. These pieces complement the other fully instrumental tracks which range from the pounding beat driven Subgiants to the ethereal Echoes Of Parlours. Bernhard s inventive textural rhythms provide the perfect backdrop for Wøllo s soaring E-bow guitar melodies on tracks such as Oculus and Denser World.

Beautifully mastered by Lee Fletcher and with an intriguingly abstract cover image Weltenuhr is yet again another quality ambient electronica release from the DiN label.


Tracklist:

01. Gales (3:50)
02. Subgiants (8:14)
03. Oculus (7:58)
04. Denser World (5:30)
05. Echoes Of Parlours (4:53)
06. On Those Grounds Alone (5:34)
07. Weltnuhr (5:41)
08. Hallway Of Things Past And Lost (4:35)
09. Portico (6:01)
10. Gabreta Silva (6:58)
11. A Vagueness Disguised (3:40)