Separated by space and stylistic approach, the combined efforts of electro-acoustic improvisor and electronic artist Mika Vainio on Trahnie, their first collaborative release, holds such extremes apart and yet brings them together such that their edges not only limit but also intersect and overlap in effective ways. It's a work of confrontation, then, but also, and more importantly, of surprising bonds and joints.
The ease and fluidity that guides the slow motion waterfall of sound on certain tracks is enough to make it apparent that, in some sense, the duo are well in tune with each other. Capece summons disparate freeform motifs, which are then directed from the sidelines by a series of physical electronic gestures on the part of Vainio. The former hangs his soprano saxophone sounds in the air on pieces such as "Valontuo", his differently articulated notes and textures floating in all directions, while Vainio anchors them within an appropriately supportive structure. In this framework, the two churn out a patiently measured tension, resulting in an ominous and dystopian vision.
As the album progresses, every now and again, the music veers toward a bruising violence, but even at these points the maelstrom of sound disguises a very precise coordination of attacks. Capece establishes a matrix of gentle and evanescent tones behind Vaino's looping electronic snarl during "Sahalaitainen"; meanwhile on "Juurake" droning sustained pitches are penetrated by urgent, shivery staccato notes. In this regard, a constantly evolving approach carries the listener on edge through a surprisingly coherent and ultimately cogent set of material. These pieces are measured and experimental, taut and surefooted; a delicate and wonderfully realized balancing act.
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Max Schaefer 2009-05-21
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