Vogel, Sabine

Aus dem Fotoalbum eines Pinguins

Label: Creative Sources Country: Portugal

"Through different types of flute, electronics and field recordings Sabine Vogel affirms her strong compositional individuality in a truly splendid work, which uses air as a primary ingredient for a series of microscopic analyses of the sonic content of incorporeality. Vogel's phonetics are made of pretty simple elements that reveal multitudes of tiny facets; her pieces scan the no man's lands of sounds lacking the consistency of a proper body, bringing out forward-looking harmonics that render their effect similar to being caressed by marine winds or wandering through desertic desolations. Indeed the sea and the rain are an engrossing presence in "Wax and wane", possibly the finest moment of this conceptual link, a gorgeous piece where flute and bass flute seem to try and determine the geographic coordinates of a lost soul amidst a holy forest of timbral reliquiae and natural lonesomeness. One imagines Vogel with pursed lips and concentrated attitude, captured by her own thought-provoking contemplations while using her instruments for outlandish insufflations of consciousness. Quantifying the value of a record like this is not easy, but there's a definite quality in Sabine Vogel's work that's enough for me to collocate her very high in my recent preferences' scale. "Aus dem Fotoalbum eines Pinguins" is a pleasing surprise from every point of view, a mature statement which effortlessly nails a few fundamental concepts right into our system. It's music that avoids collision but also disdains dialogue, fed by its very depth which could be difficult to understand completely. Not for everybody, then - yet approaching masterpiece status."-Massimo Ricci (Touching Extremes)