Owls

Release: 18th September, 2022

[Mesocosm: an experimental ecosystem set up to  examine the environment under controlled conditions]

Building on the metaphor of a mesocosm, a space in which the boundaries between large and small are distorted, Austrian trio Owls’ upcoming work explores the concept of altering the spaces around us to change our perceptions. 

Their interdisciplinary, programmatic work ‘Wendolin’s Monocle’ is set to release on September 18th on Intersections. 

Their 10-track album tells the story of a young man who dares to cross the boundaries of observational spaces. The view through a monocle makes time stand still and gives him the ability to immerse himself in the world of the micro and the macro. 

Collaborating with the Viennese director, actor and author Klaus Haberl,  actor and speaker Rafael Wagner, the filmmaker Barry Horváth, the Austrian trumpet player Herbert Walser-Breuß and the Cologne-based vocalist Veronika Morscher, each piece is a musical tracing of the protagonist’s gaze.

The ensemble’s sound is cinematic and spacious, with sophisticated melodic phrasing and rich harmony floating over the listener in tranquil waves and flurries of energy. 

Well-versed in the idioms of modern European jazz, the lines between improvisation and composition are blurred. Having self-produced this work, the trio make extensive use of modern production techniques including electroacoustic sound processing, extended techniques including muted piano, looping, and effects processing, as well as the sampling of sounds found in nature, transporting the otherwise traditional trio format into a contemporary textural experience.

A Closer Listen

SK Jazz

NRW Jazz

Virgin Jazz Face

Jazz Magazine FR

POLIFONIA

Verhoovens Jazz

The Jazz Mann

Radio ARA