A heat wave of epic proportions sweeps across Canada as Caton Diab sets sail from Vancouver for a two-month ferry journey to Vancouver Island. With only his sound engineer for company, he retreats into the solitude of nature to create the acoustic ambient LP »Imerro«. »Imerro« is an ancient Greek word meaning »longing«. For this production, C. Diab is inspired by everything playable that can be found in the Risque Disque studios. The cello, which is the most striking sonic feature of the work, is a bluff. Instead, it is the guitars that Diab bows to, drawing out resonances of great beauty with an almost brutal intensity (evoking associations somewhere between DJRum and Arthur Russell). On »Imerro«, piano, organ and banjo are also interwoven with modular synthesizer sounds, and new alienations are constantly explored: is that a saxophone or a bagpipe? »The Excuse of Fiction« could find you in a War on Drugs instrumental, while »Crypsis« is reminiscent of Fennesz and »Tiny Umbrellas« takes you into a wilderness that could have inspired Eddie Vedder for the soundtrack to Into The Wild. It is not without reason that C. Diab speaks of »post-classical grunge«. To what extent can ambient music integrate classical instruments without succumbing to kitsch? On »Imerro«, this tightrope walk is mastered in exemplary fashion.
Ezra Feinberg
Soft Power
Tonal Union