Frozen Silence

Frozen Silence is the third ECM release from alto saxophonist Maciej Obara’s Polish-Norwegian quartet bringing the story forward from Unloved and Three Crowns – and perhaps its strongest musical statement to date. Alert interactivity is the hallmark of the group’s approach in a programme of new Obara compositions inspired by the starkly dramatic landscapes of the mountainous Karkonosze region in south-west Poland. All four players make decisive contributions to the music. The pieces optimally highlight Maciej’s intuitive musical relationship with pianist Dominik Wania, while bassist Ole Morten Vågan and drummer Gard Nilssen continually transcend rhythm section roles to inject powerful ideas of their own. The album was recorded in Oslo in June 2022, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

First off, "Dream Come True" is maybe the most beautiful ballad ever. Why Lanni's lesser "Lost in You," which he recorded with Sheriff, came back from the dead instead of this pearl seems just plain unfair. Otherwise, this collection plays even more polished than Frozen Ghost's still-quirky debut, whereupon the Canadian duo established a superior level of professionalism and skill that works against the tunes this time around. Except for the Fixx-like first single, "Round and Round," there exists nothing simple about any of these songs. Nice Place to Visit almost echoes a new age atmosphere – i.e., dealing with outer (the memorable "Mother Nature") and inner ("Perfect World") solace. It's hard to recommend this CD to scratch any particular musical itch, but "Dream Come True" on a mixed tape could make anybody fall in love with you.

The intoxicating debut from Frozen Ghost commingles Great White North album-oriented rock with a classy new wave chill worthy of their mysterious moniker. Not as artsy as Duran Duran, not as emotive as Ultravox, this pair may be the Canadian answer to Tears for Fears, only better than that sounds. Opening minor hit "Should I See" might as well be the Fixx, but it's actually brainchild Andre Lanni establishing his way with ruminating rhymes and mechanical melody. He came from Sheriff, where he wrote their posthumous smash "When I'm With You" and, after three fine FG works, went on to become a powerhouse producer (King's X) and mentor (Our Lady Peace). Except for the radio number mentioned above, Frozen Ghost fell off the face of the planet instantly. A shame, as the world missed out on the mysterious stranger lurking in "Yum Bai Ya," the military melancholy of "Soldiers Cry," and "End of the Line," a flat-out great pop tune not related to the Traveling Wilburys hit of the same period or even the Roxy Music song (though Roxy roots appear elsewhere). Actually, every track is rock-solid and probably gone forever, further adding to the mystique of one of the all-time should-have-beens.

Nico - The Frozen Borderline 1968-1970 (2007) {2CD Set Rhino 8122-74885-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 752 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 318 Mb
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© 1968-70, 2007 Elektra / Reprise Records / Rhino | 8122-74885-2
Rock / Avant Rock / Art Rock / Experimental Rock

A companion to the same label's masterful reissue of John Cale's Paris 1919, The Frozen Borderline remasters the two albums that Nico recorded (with Cale in attendance) for Elektra and Reprise in 1968 and 1970, adding a heap of bonus tracks and the kind of deluxe packaging that fans – accustomed to the cheapness of other Nico repackagings – have previously only dreamed about. Spread across two discs, one per original LP, the two albums sound spectacular. Neither was exactly a production tour de force, their instrumentation dominated, of course, by harmonium, and the handful of flourishes that Cale layered on.

Roland Kayn - A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound (2017) {16CD Set, frozen reeds fr7/22}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.81 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.93 Gb
Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2017 frozen reeds | fr7/22
Experimental / Modern Classical / Cybernetic Music / Electroacoustic / Electronic

Twenty-two movements, 14 hours and 16 CDs worth of spangling cosmic sound play: this premiere release of the magnum opus by German composer Roland Kayn is a colossus and a marvel. Roland who? In a profession that glorifies big egos and fetishises the kind of creative genius that demands total control, Kayn went to more selfless extremes. He worked in the pioneering electronic studios of Germany and the Netherlands in the mid-20th century and built fastidious command systems with the aim of making “self-sufficient cybernetic music”.