Hendrik Weber's 2013 work with The Bell Laboratory – Elements of Light – was a fine example of true collaboration.
It perhaps subtly shifted Weber’s process, and that’s evident on this record, which comprises other musicians (members of Bell Laboratory and Queens) evolving their work through jamming and experimentation.
What emerges is a rich composition, both playful and serious, where the themes of peacefulness and torment are worked out as part of the same whole.
The tinkly introduction of the choral-influenced The Winter Hymn flows in to the music-box sound of Frau Im Mond, which brings to mind a dismantled version of Bjork's Pagan Poetry.
The sense of movement present on In an Open Space reaches even deeper on Chasing Vapour Trails, and all crumbles back down again for the reflective, moving Wallflower for Pale Saints.
