OMOKENTRO by Nabelóse

“OMOKENTRO” is the second release of Ingrid Schmoliner and Elena Kakaliagou’s “Nabelóse“ that sees them blend their voices with the sounds of the former’s prepared piano and the latter’s French horn. Recorded in the big water reservoir in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg as part of the fourth edition of bohemian drips’ “Speicher – festival for site-specific music“ in 2020, this LP captures a one-of-a-kind performance, influenced both by the surroundings’ idiosyncratic acoustics as well as by two very different social environments—with and without an audience. Spanning over 45 minutes, “OMOKENTRO” takes the attentive listener on a journey through time and space—not only reminiscent of the duo’s music reverberating through the reservoir but also through the memories of its enchanted visitors.

The duo draws on a variety of musical influences ranging from New Music to Minimal, as well as, occasionally, Greek folk music, or their own English-language compositions for voice in order to integrate them into their artistic approach. When playing together, they blur the lines between composition and improvisation while being mindful of the resonant qualities of the space and the people around them. The duo interacts with sensitivity and freedom to each other as to the environment and the audience, that become both a source of inspiration and resonant bodies in this process. Ingrid Schmoliner works with a piano, prepared with wooden sticks and even porcupine needles as well as e-bows to approximate the aesthetics of electronic music through the use of mostly acoustic means. Elena Kakaliagou invents unconventional new techniques for her horn, that make the instrument sound like the wind, the sea, or like a roaring animal; a few minutes later the well-known lyrical sound of the french horn accompanies the voice of Ingrid Schmoliner in a more classical duo.

“Tauchen” and “Kern” explore the stunning acoustics of the water reservoir by gently and slowly filling the space with sustained tones and subtle rhythms that become more demanding the further the second piece progresses. In “Walking”, “Wolf’s Path” and “Amygdalaki” the presence of the audience creates a more dense and multi-layered overall sound. This becomes noticeable in “Wolf’s Path”, which takes a similar approach to the first two pieces, but whose dynamic is more tense, though, despite the urgency of their playing, Schmoliner and Kakaliagou leave each other space to unfold. “Walking” is one of Schmoliner’s compositions for voice, while the song “Amygdalaki” works with a popular melody from the island of Skyros in Greece.

“OMOKENTRO” highlights Nabelóse’s unique musical approach at the intersection of composition and improvisation, sound and space while also once more showcasing the impressive acoustic affordances of the space in which it was recorded (the record follows previous releases on bohemian drips made for, with and in the same place by Microtub, Tomoko Sauvage and Axel Dörner & Richard Scott). Captured in binaural audio (Kunstkopf stereophony), the music and sounds from this album will relocate the listeners to the actual recording scenario.

Berlin based record label specialized in developing, publishing and staging site-specific compositions in settings with distinctive acoustics. Organizer of the "Speicher" festival in the water reservoirs of Berlin-Pankow since 2017. Founded in 2011 by Alexander Meurer and Fillipp Vingerhoets.

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