Fleischwolf - Einst [Valve Records]

Coming in from Wuppertal / Germany these days and released via Solingen-based Valve Records is "Einst", the debut album of Fleischwolf - 'meat grinder' in German -, a duo comprised of Gunda Gottschalk and Achim Konrad. Based on a combination of violin and digital computer processing "Einst" caters a body of work stretched out over 13 tracks and roughly 47 minutes, gravitating towards a haunting, dramatic and oftentimes dry, off kilter and dissonant take on brittle Modern Classical / Contemporary Classical music, exploring the more experimentalist and surely avantgarde-leaning side of the genre, yet incorporating echoes of echoes of ancient (Nordic?) Folk in cuts like "Die Oga Schwingen" which also presents some quite unnerving sequences only to be appreciated by the dedicated headstrong whilst "Der Riesenkater" evokes memories of both Noize and ElectroAcoustic sound manipulations, "Paradiescreme" is as traditionally (Neo)Classical as it gets on this album and "Freivogel" is as chirping as its title - which roughly translates to 'free bird' in German - might suggest just to name a few. One album for an admittedly small, yet highly specialized audience.