Umbra III is the fifth record by Umbra, the duo of Elias Stemeseder (spinet, electronics) and Christian Lillinger (drums and electronics). This time they have thrown pianist Craig Taborn into the mix, who blends wonderfully into their tense, avant-garde soundworld. The album is a live recording at the 2021 International Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Austria, but it is studio quality, and the audience are so attentive you could hear a pin drop.
As with much of the music coming out of Central Europe at the moment, the listener is left wondering what is improvised and what is composed, such is the way these elements seem to blur and merge with one another. Their integration feels completely organic as they are swallowed up by Lillinger’s frenetic percussion. You almost have to wonder whether this music even needs composed elements, as the music has such a fluid shape and the musicians such a strong sense of the world they wish to conjure.
Lillinger’s drumming provides a complex texture: this is an ensemble very much of equals rather than a hierarchy in any sense. It may be better to think of the music as three percussionists; Stemeseder and Taborn both approach their instruments in that sense rather than a melodic or harmonic one, contributing to a sense of drive that is present throughout the record. The record maintains this momentum even during the sparser moments, the textures overlapping like musical tides, and at no point is any musician in the foreground; each musician contributes equally to the unified texture.
This kind of ‘textural’ improvised music isn’t for everyone, but this record is a good example of how much tension can be built even when the musicians don’t seem to be actively resisting one another. It isn’t a demonstration of technique (impressive as all three musicians are), but the production of a soundworld. The music never really slows down, or at least never for long, and nor does it ever become explosive, leaving me to wonder at points whether the record has quite enough variety. The second, much shorter, track ‘TYPUS’ felt to me too similar to the first improvisation, almost a reprise. But nonetheless, the attentive listener will find a close listen very rewarding, as the details make for some very compelling music. The musicians are interacting at the microscopic level, which gives a sense of deep synchronicity. It is therefore music which requires full attention for its subtlety to be appreciated.
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