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Jonas Munk

Absorb/Fabric/Cascade

Written by: BV on 14/03/2015 12:07:44

Jonas Munk is a name you’ve probably heard in one context or another. Whether it be for his involvement in acclaimed Danish psych-rockers Causa Sui or his lesser known involvement in Manual or his solo project under his own name, you’ve probably come across him – if nothing else as one of the people behind El Paraiso records – notable for releasing albums by such heavy-hitters as Papir, Causa Sui, Jakob Skøtt and more. The subject of this review is Munk’s latest solo offering under his own name, “Absorb/Fabric/Cascade”, which, if you only know him from Causa Sui, is quite different from what you’d probably expect from it.

As evident from the very beginning, “Absorb/Fabric/Cascade” is a stylistic venture into the realm of electronica-infused krautrock. Unlike the his previous solo outing “Pan”, the slow build-ups of melody are not the essential focus – rather it seems that Munk has ventured into a more drone-inspired soundscape where the steady progression is nearly absent – instead making way for soothing, ambient textures that slowly intertwine and become greater wholes. Album opener “Absorb” is, with its 15 minute runtime, a beautifully executed example of this as you can practically picture the gentle care and meticulousness with which Munk has controlled the instrumentation on this track. All changes throughout are subtle, not immediately noticeable but somehow they manage to creep up on the listener either way. The complete absence of percussion seems strange at first, but only supports the underlying notion of sustaining a melody and a soundscape throughout extended periods of time with a setup that is as minimalistic as possible. – And it seems to work, too.

Unlike the album opener, “Cascade” seems to have a larger focus on the melodic aspects of this particular sonic approach. Granted, its build-up is lengthy but the musical release and eventual reward is so much greater than what was displayed on “Absorb”, making the track seem so much more purposeful as well, when the musical context as a whole has a playfulness to it that makes you wonder if there ever really was a general purpose with the album other than Jonas Munk’s affinity for venturing into new sonic territories for every album to be released under one of his many monikers.

Sonically the album is impressive, to say the least. Granted, there aren’t any specific ‘songs’ to keep listeners fully interested throughout and I do believe the album will possibly also be appreciated the most in the hands of drone-interested psych-heads or electronica fans. Nonetheless it is always interesting to hear where prolific artists feel they can take their music in terms of direction - personally, when it comes to these electronic, synth-based outskirts it would seem Munk’s bandmate Jakob Skøtt seems more successful and immediate in his endeavors – possibly due to the large presence of driving percussion throughout. However, it’s still a solid release from a highly prolific musician.

Download: Absorb, Cascade
For the fans of: Jakob Skøtt, Manual, Brian Eno, Popol Vuh
Listen: Facebook

Release date 02.03.2015
El Paraiso Records