'We’re pleased to welcome back Berlin-based artist Sven Laux, responsible for the now out of print Schachmatt which we released in 2018. Sven has been no stranger to the Ambient and Modern Classical scenes since then, with a release on Archives, a collaboration with Daniela Orvin as well as working on his new label Seasides On Postcards.
ODD is the first album Sven has created in his new studio, after moving into a new place following the birth of his daughter. Whilst working on the album, he always had in mind that there are calm parts in life followed by faster parts. He depicts the peaks and troughs of our existence through soft swathes of orchestral ambience interspersed by moments of rhythmic strings and electronic pulses.
Sven draws inspiration from the film soundtrack greats and constantly strives to build a bridge between classical music and Ambient; in ODD he created an entirely digital album but worked hard to program the right timbres to achieve a realistic orchestral sound.
There is a settled feeling to ODD thanks to long passages of repetitive strings and this forms the backdrop of the album as a broadly melancholic listen, laced with emotion from Sven’s own experiences. These are intended to draw the listener into the stories and absorb them. An overwhelming new dawn of possibilities becomes the theme for Sven with his new home, studio and indeed the new life of his baby daughter beginning this chapter.
What does ODD stand for? One Dramatic Day? Opening Doors? Is it a phrase in German? Does it mean anything? It will remain undefined. For us, these seven untitled pieces serve as a cinematic milieu, with the monochrome packaging presented as close-up film reels covered in dust.'
- Harry Towell
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'[...] With the press releases alluding to the speed of life and the times when things are calm, he has demonstrated this in the album by varying the pieces in both musical styles and in intensity. What the album highlights is the way Laux utilises his current modes of expressing himself without ignoring his musical heritage. By doing this it allows Laux the flexibility and musical know-how to consistently create engaging pieces resulting in one of the most direct releases on the label.'
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driftingalmostfalling.wordpress.com
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'[...] This way, the music is not strictly ‘modern classical’ but crosses over into more electronic realms of sounds, deepening its impact. The birth of his daughter and his new studio obviously inspired Sven Laux. I bet there will be more where this came from…'
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www.ambientblog.net
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'[...] Stilistisch verschachtelt der Komponist viele Elemente aus den Musikbereichen von Ambient und Neoklassik auf eine sehr homogene Weise. Hinzu kommen Klangblüten aus dem Bereich von Drone und experimentelle Elektronik. In dem gesamten Klanggerüst ist immer ein roter Faden an melancholischen Spitzen verwoben, der durchaus direkt aus der Seele des Komponisten kommt. Instrumentalisiert ist ODD in genretypischer Umgebung, Klavier und Streich-Arrangements werden mit elektronischen Dimensionen in Einklang gebracht. Das Ganze besitzt hin und wieder ein leicht, orchestralen Touch, sanfter und fragiler Gesang beschert den Hörer in einigen Stücken dann die gewollten Schübe an Gänsehaut. [...]'
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gezeitenstrom.weebly.com
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'[...] “ODD” è il primo album creato dall’artista tedesco nel suo nuovo studio ed è anche il primo dopo la nascita di sua figlia, che deve in qualche misura aver influenzato la ricerca da parte sua di un linguaggio sonoro estremamente pacato, costituito dalla graduale evoluzione di timbriche digitali, ma non per questo privo di dinamiche compositive. [...]'
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www.musicwontsaveyou.com
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'[...] There is a cinematic tendency to the emotive passages numerically titled “ODD I” through “ODD VII”, consistently blending elements of orchestral progressions into ambience and drone. Mayhaps an acronym or just a cryptic title, the concept of the album pulls away from words and focuses instead on tender music. The atmospheres are poignant with a story that we wish so much to learn, but while we spend the time with all its photographic beauty, we accidentally unearth a story of our own. And that’s the power of a gift unknown we simply know in sound as ‘music’. [...]'
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www.headphonecommute.com
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'Remarqué dans nos pages par le biais du beau Paper Street défendu il y a deux ans par le label russe Dronarivm et qui faisait la part belle aux cordes post-classiques minimales et atmosphériques sur fond de textures vaporeuses raccord avec la montagne embrumée de sa pochette, Sven Laux met en avant ici un néo-classique plus saillant dont le lyrisme toujours relativement nébuleux (cf. l’atmosphère bucolique et à demi-ensommeillée du craquelant ODD IV aux cascades de piano manipulées) se pare ici et là de chœurs féminins irréels (ODD II) et s’autorise par moments de vrais élans orchestraux (ODD III, ODD VI), au risque d’en faire parfois un peu trop des deux côtés (ODD V, bien sauvé toutefois par son beatmaking renouant avec l’IDM des débuts). [...]'
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www.indierockmag.com
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