7K Oaks - 7000 Oaks (Die Schachtel, 2008) ***½

Ferocious, fierce, frenetic, intense, wild, energetic are words that describe well the overall atmosphere of this music, yet there are moments that are calm, subdued, intimate even. The ferocity is not destructive, the four musicians build huge walls of sounds that come and go, change texture and shape, while keeping their energetic momentum most of the time. Luckily for the listener they are also clever enough to integrate some slower pieces, in which the musicians' emotional qualities, but also the subtlety of their approach, come better to light. And even in the slower pieces, the tension remains in the music, creating expectations for things to happen (and they do). The German-Italian band consists of Alfred 23 Harth on saxophone, clarinet and electronics, Luca Venitucci on piano, accordion and objects, Massimo Pupillo on bass, and Fabrizio Spera on drums. All four musicians have long track records in various bands of various genres, but what they bring here is strong, and a nice examples of how free jazz and electronics can merge if used cleverly. And its probably this variety of backgrounds that creates the variety in the music, there is some punk attitude, but also jazz and avant-garde, and the last track even brings a bass vamp and fixed rhythmic drum pattern which could fit as the base for some progrock, but free jazz and electronics are the dominating voice. This is not easy listening, but fans of the genre will surely love this one.

Listen and buy from Die Schachtel.