Air Cushion Finish - Flink

Air Cushion Finish - Flink

Verdict: 4/5
Label

Lullabies For Insomniacs

CATALOG NO

LFI003

RELEASE DATE

November 2016

Written By

Mihaela Vasiliu

Published

January 23, 2017

“… in those days they were accompanied by a sort of humming noise, not articulate, but musical, exciting, which changed the value of the words themselves. Could one set that humming noise to words? Perhaps with the help of the poets one could.” – Virginia Woolf - A Room of One’s Own (1929)

Maybe this paragraph from this uniquely skilled user of words (that is Virginia Woolf, of course) could sum up rather well, (or at least try to outline) the mental and philosophical framework of this record. Air Cushion Finish is the articulated musical effort of JayRope and Lippstueck, two of Berlin’s experimental scene outposts since the 90’s.

Lippstueck is in charge of the vocals, sometimes eerie (a bit Deux Fille-ish), at times incorporating the absurd playfulness of Dada (in “You and I”), but almost always impregnated with melancholia. I couldn’t help but not notice the abundance of vocal gestures, embodying those of Demetrio Stratos in “Cantare la voce” in some instances, especially on “Haarscheinrüssler”.

On “Lyrebird”, some nuanced Meredith Monk utterances can be slightly grasped. The percussion paraphernalia does convey a sense of assumed juvenility, as we find out from the promo, JayRope dwells in DIY ventures and he manufactures his own instruments, apparently small (and endearingly) enough to fit in a suitcase.

If you have a slice of your time, give it a listen, a provocation to not take yourself too seriously.

Tracklist:

1. Haarscheinrüssler
2. Rest
3. Lyrebird
4. Ruhig, Brauner
5. Flink
6. Comédie Automatique
7. She Never Lies
8. You and I
9. Wurzelmundqualle