review

pd conception - phrased silence reviewed by «the wire»

By Brian Marley

open quote PD Conception is the work of Ingvo Clauder (piano) and Terje Evensen (percussion), a German/Norwegian duo that has been in existence since 2001. Clauder is a classically trained pianist who also plays saxophone, Evensen’s background is in jazz. But PD Conception, a sequence of nine short pieces, is entirely improvised and doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre of music. Some of Clauder’s piano strings have been prepared – mostly muted – to provide a colourful array of rattles, thunks and gamelan-like bongs. Clauder’s playing is delicate and spacious, and often he worries away at a melodic or rhythmic figure until every valuable facet of it has been revealed. Evensen is a sensitive player, and his contributions subtly reinforce some of the rhythmic aspects of the music without ever slipping into a flat-out groove. Occasionally, such as on “uhnunuu”, Satie-like fragments of limpid melody emerge, which are teased and gently pummelled into shape.
The first CD works extremely well on its own, but the decision to have Anders Tveit recompose these pieces electroacoustically was a good one. Tveit’s interpretation of “shnkfgjnskihs”, the last track on CD one and the first track on CD two, makes for a completely different listening experience, and it’s a strong composition in its own right.open quoteOccasionally, fragments of the source material peep through (such as on “uhnkunkh”), but Tveit’s approach is far from reverential and he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

June 2005