Andrew Pekler

Up until now, Andrew Pekler has been best known as a micro-jazz producer who mostly works within the shadow of Jan Jelinek. His first two albums for Pole’s ~scape label sounded more like a compendium of ideas introduced by the roster’s more prominent names (Kit Clayton, Pole, Jelinek again). Which is all the more surprising that a move to the increasingly highbrow Staubgold label — owners of a catalogue that once suffered a similar shadowy fate among Germany’s crowded bedroom label circuit — has blown open Pekler’s tastes to fearless experimentation. The thirst for jazz is still all over Strings + Feedback, but the difference in approach is as wide as that between ho-hum pedantry and forward-gazing avant-gardisms. As this album plucks away toward the ambient realm, beats are traded in for spare string samples and disarming atmosphere with the whole effort blending together seamlessly. Hopefully, Strings + Feedback signals a new direction for Pekler as it’s his most interesting release to date.