Moritz Von Oswald Trio

Rhythm and Sound have been the inspiration for many Jamaican-infused electronic minimalists over the last 15 years, but Vertical Ascent marks an exciting and unexpected new chapter. Moritz Von Oswald, half of the celebrated dub-wise duo, has convened a trio to create a trancelike atmosphere with improvisational elements. Minimalism this isn't. Suggestive of Carl Craig's gradually unfolding atmospheres, there remains an inner chilliness aided and abetted by the judicious contributions of Vladislav Delay's percussion and Max Loderbauer's further tweakage. With just four "Patterns," clocking in between seven and 15 minutes, each track is in a world of its own. What is common to all is a welcome sense of swing, which is more implied and overt than in most Rhythm and Sound work. Delay's ride cymbals, as always, suggest jazz but frequent bell-like sounds provide both percussion and harmonic variability that diminish straight genre comparisons. Everything from Antillean rhythms to gamelan is suggested in this recording, which isn't likely to induce glazed expressions so much as involuntary head nodding.