Sankt Otten
Engtanz Depression
Denovali Records

German instrumental duo Sankt Otten has been on the track, on a musical mission since the band was formed back in 1999. Sankt Otten are Stephan Otten (drums, programming, synthesizer) and Oliver Klemm (guitar, synthesizer, piano), and the twosome have released eight albums over the years, from their debut album Eine Kleine Traurigkeit (originally out on Eleganz Records, in 2000) up to this latest album, Engtanz Depression (meaning 'Close Dance Depression').

After a stay in Hidden Shoal Recordings' stable for some years, they have now been working with the German label Denovali Records over the last 5-6 years. Otten and Klemm still create and unveil spinning and swirling ambient/electronic, instrumental music related to German bands like Tangerine Dream and (even) Kraftwerk (but only slightly) - in a modern, updated version. The 'Kraut-power' is in the core of the music. The sound of Weltschmerz, sort of, but hey, it is not all grey and dark: Here are nuances included: in colour, in temperature, in mind, and in mood. Even in terms of 'colour temperature'. The musical soundscapes mirror an always shifting, rotating state of mind. It is all temporary - moving forwards, moving further, moving anywhere. They write and record electronic psalms, which come out as music of light and shadow - from the darker and gloomier terrain of pop music. This is the sound of music that could have been written as some soundtrack to gliding though big city streets, or moving in slow-motion throughout the night time while crossing the German country's Autobahns.

The epic track "Sing die Apokalypse" stretch out in a monumental way, being a 12 minute trip taking you places you didn't expect to go to. At times Sankt Otten draw big dramatic pictures, while at other times, they stick to smaller views of a more minimalist style. All the time their music is 'painted' in warm and electric colours and hues. They present meditative as well as suggestive music. Take a ride with Sankt Otten. This is music balancing the zigzagging path, or border between the divine comedy and the divine tragedy. Check in on their musical dreamscapes. You will be dazed, but not confused. This listening ride is cure for pain.

Copyright © 2015 Håvard Oppøyen