German-born Italy-based composer Leopold Michalak just released his latest record, Collection 2 which is composed of 10 tracks. The compositions lie on the avant-garde and ambient spectrum while also borrowing some elements from classical, modern contemporary, and cinematic/movie scores. Let’s see what this new album from the unique composer has to offer.
The first track, Scene 1, begins with some raindrops on a metal tent that give the feeling of loneliness and being scared. Later on, some tribal percussion and synths with effects join the mix, making this an ambient track fit for an independent thriller movie. I’m already loving the vibe. The second track, Unter Tage, increases the loneliness vibes not just from its name (Unter Tage means underground in German), but also from the keyboard melody and tribal percussion that made me feel like someone is following me in an underground tunnel or cave. After 3 minutes of the 7-minute track have passed, the tribal percussion progresses into a very oriental-sounding innuendo that may or may not be related to urban myths and legends. The sound puts you in that feeling of being among harmful supernatural creatures that are chasing after you. The last minute of the song was the only part that felt like a ray of hope had appeared in the middle of the terrifying myths. Bei Nacht Und Nebel, which translates to “In night and fog”, continues in the same fashion of using the raindrop sounds followed by the oriental sounds. A very bass-rich arrangement made this piece feel groovier than all the previous arrangements. This track consolidates the Arabian nightmare vision that the album is trying to paint in the listener’s mind so far. Slug has some low-pitched sounds that feel like humming, with some strange and distorted sounds which suggest the noises we heard prior could be those of slugs or opportunistic creatures in a claustrophobic sewer or underground tunnel.
Clocking in at 10 minutes, Gnadenwald is the album’s longest track and it makes use of that long duration to emphasise and strengthen the feelings of loneliness and being surveilled by a strange being. More tribal drums and samples on the synth make this track sound like a horror movie, and it’s also the most experimental one out of the bunch. The track has a calm interlude and then all the previous samples and rudimentary sounds recur to intensify the horrific situation the piece gives you when you hear it. Scene 2 and Scene 3 have very different flavours woven within their melodies. With the former being entirely synths without the tribal beats or melodic parts, and the latter having some piano/keys that sound like an homage to classical composers, you begin to see that Leopold is a master in transferring the way he feels. Error once again shows a tribal beat (leaning more towards Asian and Turkic cultures) but it builds a time signature and starts the percussion on a sample of footsteps and a person that’s panting. This man’s creativity is so unpredictable. Near the end of the track, I felt like I was listening to a DJ or Hip-Hop producer from how coherent these elements became. Baroque showcases that Leopold is in fact inspired and loves that particular era of music. The track wants you to compromise and give apologies at its start, but then with the rising tension, you begin to feel some hidden darkness and rage that feels like the song is evoking a more violent response to any fearsome beings or situations of entrapment around the listener. The tension kept arising to a time when the beat felt like an actual horror movie beat, especially with the background vocals of a wailing woman.
The tenth and final track, Dem Winde, is 7 minutes long and begins with some vintage-sounding keys before progressing into that modern electronica sound with the hip-hop elements that we heard before. This guy is really unpredictable with his artistic choices. More bass-rich melodies and arrangements shape this up to be the tribal dance fest y’all asked for.
At the end of the day, Collection 2 cannot be described as an electronica record or a classical record. Not even ambient and avant-garde would be sufficient words on their own to explain what’s going on here. From building whole beats based on samples and repeating sounds from real life, I could tell how much. This man’s work is varied and diverse, but at the same time emblematic of his vast array of abilities and influences to choose from when composing. This is a rare instance when I can say this is a 10/10 record for me.
