Lunz
Hans Joachim Roedelius was a founding member of the German electronic bandClusterin the early 1970s. In the intervening years he's also produced innumerable solo albums ranging from refined chamber music to unmitigated experiments. Tim Story is a disciple of Roedelius who has forged his own ambient chamber sound for two decades. They've been working together for the last few years andLunz, named for a lake in Austria, is the most recent poetic result.It's a sensual, liquid sound that merges classical influences along with electronic ambiences and a gift for melody that would leave Erik Satie crying. There are many pseudo-classical new age artists who use these same elements to create easy listening music. Story and Roedelius skip past sentiment and go straight for the jugular with melodies that emerge like forgotten, and sometimes troubling, memories. The mix of acoustic piano, cello, and an original electronic palette adds both atmosphere and edge, givingLunzan emotional resonance that runs deep. When the cello and electronics double each other on the title track like a distant wail, the effect is devastating. --John Diliberto