Hauschka: Salon Des Amateurs

Hauschka
Salon Des Amateurs
Rating: Grrrr

Volker Bertelmann is a Dusseldorf, Germany experimental composer who creates music under a variety of monikers, but uses Hauschka as an outlet for playful mixes of treated piano in a more pop vein. Treated piano usually consists of objects (which can be anything really) placed between the piano strings to create new sounds. Salon Des Amateurs is Hauschka's latest album and one that is an interpretation of dance music, more specifically house music. Of course, this being dance music based on treated piano, it is not the kind of music that will make you rush the dance floor. It is more headphones music than four to the floor head bangers. But what it lacks in BPMs, it more than makes up for it in textures and complexity, which sounds more academic than it is, as this is very playful music with lots of subtle touches.

While the piano is front and center on the album, it is not all ambient, new age doodling. Hauschka works on this album with Múm drummer Samuli Kosminen and Calexico's John Convertino and Joey Burns for additional percussion which propels the album and gives it force and drive. He also incorporates violinist Hilary Hahn for additional diversity on the track "Girls," which is a standout, building slowly from gorgeous pointillist piano motifs into subtle percussion driven track.



Other standout songs are the delicate and loopy "Sunrise" which reminds me of a blurry walk through woods in the early light, everything slowly coming into focus with each passing minute.



Probably the most "danceable" of the tracks is the chugging "Two AM" whose piano glissandos are carried by the dense percussion.



"Cube" works several piano motifs against each other, sounding like a hive of bees slowly getting in sync with each others' rhythm. The delicate way in which the track flows is breathtaking.



Rapid fire piano notes hit against sharp percussion in "Subconscious" while plaintive strains of accordion float in and out of the mix.



Buzzy electronics, harsh horns and dark piano link together for an ominous mix in "Radar."



Salon Des Amateurs is not a perfect album though. Several tracks sound promising but ultimately don't really go anywhere, and the back half of the album sort of loses momentum. "Tanzbein" is all build and no release.



And "Taxitaxi" suffers from lack of a cohesive idea.



Aside from these slight misgivings, Salon Des Amateurs is a strikingly accomplished album in Hauschka's canon. It is a serious record that surprisingly doesn't take itself too seriously, if that isn't too much of a conundrum. It is a gorgeous album that you can immerse yourself in, let be unobtrusively in the background, or can actually get your head bobbing. It is whatever you want it be, and for whatever mood you are in.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.