Hidden Shoal Recordings is proud to announce digital and cd pre-order availability for the new album Off by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr. Off is the third and final part of a trilogy that includes the critically acclaimed releases In and On. The album is available from the Hidden Shoal Store in digital format (MP3 & FLAC) and pre-orders are available for the special limited edition CD release. The CD release is limited to an edition of 50 units.
Off is not only the culmination of Markus Mehr’s trilogy, but it may also be the culmination of his career’s work thus far. The single-track album begins in silence, as a thrumming loop gradually emerges. From there, a beautiful piano refrain is introduced, noise ebbs and flows, threatening to engulf the piece, while field recordings and swooningly transportive synth patterns drift into focus. During its 42-minute runtime, the piece immerses the listener in a dizzyingly beautiful soundworld that’s ever-shifting. Certain passages allude to other sequences and samples in the preceding albums, linking the three albums into a kaleidoscopic mobius strip.
” It feels like emerging from a tunnel only to find that I am driving into the path of a tornado. As it builds up into a storm of guitar feedback and reverb, I have forgotten about where the piece has begun, entranced instead by a tonal shift into some kind of hellish union of choir voices and endless noise… Markus Mehr has crafted a sharply clever piece of music. It a evokes a presence that is rarely found; a balance between the ugly and the pretty where both can exist at once. I continue to be impressed by what Mehr is capable of.” – Brainwashed reviewing Off
“… prepare for a shuddering, near chaotic, kaleidoscopic experience as Mehr challenges our and his own preconceptions of what “electronica” is, what it represents and of what his instrumentation can achieve.” – Delusions of Adequacy reviewing On
“It is a process of constant repetition and tension building with each tiny fragment or loop coming in to focus, one by one, little by little, to end up as an emphatically crushing work of art… It is minimalism that gives birth to the epic, intelligent music that takes over its listeners and engages them to its very dying moments.” – The Silent Ballet reviewing In
Off is available now in digital formats (MP3 & Flac) through the Hidden Shoal Store. Pre-orders are also available for the limited edition CD release of the album which features custom packaging and is limited to 50 units only. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all details.
Markus Mehr – “Off” (Excerpt)