Nemeth

Film

BY Vish KhannaPublished Jan 21, 2008

With its intersection of visual art and corresponding soundscapes, Stefan Németh’s Film would be interesting enough without the six musical explorations found here. Known as a member of experimental Austrian bands like Radian and Lokai, Németh began collaborating closely with makers of short films and video artists in 2001, crafting soundtracks for their works. Re-imagining some of those compositions slightly and retaining others in their original form, Németh completed the remarkable Film, a heady combination of digital noise and acoustic instrumentation that’s provocative stimulus. The requisite drones and glitches are often augmented with hard beats: "Via L4-Norte” possesses an organic rhythmic pattern that’s easy to mesh with, while the industrial buzz of "Transitions” morphs into a mellow, if alien, trance groove. Without even knowing the source inspiration, pieces like "Luukkaankangas” conjure a vivid cinematic ambience, infusing the room with a sinister kind of drama. It’s a credit to Németh that such abstract scores can coexist and flow on one record, and Film is simply a cool, effective concept.
(Thrill Jockey)

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