Nils Petter Molvaer & Moritz von Oswald - 1/1

Major label's aren't necessarily on my musical radar, so it was only by chance that I found about the new project by Moritz von Oswald (hat tip to Matthias!) In recent years, the dub techno veteran was involved in several collaborations, ranging from rather unlikely reworks of classical material to his fairly recent album with Juan Atkins. For his latest record, he teamed up with Norwegian jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer and the project was released on Universal earlier this month.

A few minutes into my first listen, and my mind already plays an updated version of Louie Malle's 1958 movie Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, based in the cold concrete landscape of 21st century Berlin. The comparison is as simple and obvious as it might sound: Molvaer's playing is taking the part of the original Miles Davis soundtrack, while von Oswald's doings add a sense of reverbing urban night life. That said, one might argue whether the record would've worked better as an actual soundtrack, but in the end that depends on your listening habits or your willingness to submit yourself to an album of one kind of sound. To make up your mind, head over to German website Die Zeit for a full album stream.

1/1 was released earlier this month and is available on vinyl, CD and digital.