Ümlaut – An Auxiliary View (Audiobulb Records, 2024)
An Auxiliary View, the latest album by Ümlaut, presents a set of reflective and serene ambient electronic soundscapes. The album’s peaceful interplay of sounds creates a transfixing movement, drawing the listener into a tranquil journey beyond physical boundaries. Rooted in the tradition of musique concrète, the album emphasizes the present moment with its abstract, beat-less themes and atmospheric percussion.
The ambient flows are enhanced by calming synth tones, emotive vibes, and reverb-laden chords that ripple through the stereo field. The album defies genre classification, focusing instead on texture and emotion. Experimental, yet accessible. The micro-chopping and rearranging of subtle, barely recognizable sounds give the album a fresh yet familiar feel, intertwining detailed textures, timbres, and a floating sensation.
Ümlaut, the project of U.S. experimental composer Jeff Düngfelder, now based in northern Connecticut, explores themes of absence, silence, and the interplay between viewer and image. His minimalistic, electroacoustic approach merges field recordings and electronics, creating a patchwork that evokes a world of shadows and colors. This allows listeners to interpret the sounds in their own way, mixing ambient, musique concrète, and noise elements.
Track listing:
01 – In exchange, offering
02 – Nuances and shudders
03 – Conceived by walking
04 – Gaze back into you
05 – In heaven, all
06 – When work speaks
07 – Always some reason
08 – Chaos within you
09 – Attacked by ideas
10 – Emptier, simpler
11 – Sheet of paper
12 – Rose in the abyss
Music composed & constructed by Jeff Düngfelder
Release date: 12 September 2024.
Buy An Auxiliary View.