Get into the end-time mood: The Russian-born Berliner illuminates the dystopia with electronic gothic herbs.
First, church bells ring. And then you’re in the ambient dystopia of “Zone (A Tale Of A Mourning Mother)”, which immerses Mary Ocher’s sublime vocals in the bath of world pain with an apparently microwaved, Gothic church organ. Barry Burns from Mogwai assisted the Berlin-based musician with this apocalyptic vision wrapped in a hypnotic minor key. With APPROACHING SINGULARITY, the Russian-born artist tackles fields such as fear of the future and authoritarianism; she even included an essay on the topic with the album.
According to Ocher, this is the common thread; musically, she sees herself primarily as a curator. In this role, she delves into the history of experimental, electronic music; in her eclectic collection, Kraut exists alongside techno and chamber music alongside folk. Her singing, however, remains largely behind a veil, only in “Yellow Modulations” does the Schauerfrau bring it to the forefront and accompaniment to the piece with a sample of a stroke, whoever may have experienced it.
Eccentric? But yes! This is followed by two drummers sharing a Blue Monday beat, a romantic piano miniature, voices from the horror house and lots of other great stuff. A record that takes us through the end times with 14 dark-colored, shimmering experiments.
Author: Michael Prenner