I can’t really you explain you my sympathy… But I ran into Kammer III, the latest album by Malte Vief and his band, Malte Viefs Kammer, already in January and felt fascinated by it. Instrumental music, popular classic music, chamber ensemble. Not really the kind of stuff I typically share with you. But I just felt this one is worth a deeper listen. Hope you enjoy – or excuse me 🙂 Release date is 17th February 2023. There has been a pre-release on Bandcamp in January 2023.
Malte Vief – About The Artist
Malte Vief is naming his own music heavy classic. He already started to study the guitar as a junior student at the “Academy of Arts” (Hochschule für Künste) in Bremen. At this time, he was just 16 years old. Later, he also studied in Hamburg and Dresden. So far, he released four albums, starting with Antigo in 2016. Of course, there are already two Kammer (meaning: chamber) albums before.
Malte Vief – Kammer III – Track by Track
The eleven song album lasts 44 minutes.
1. Geburt
The album starts rather slowly and brief with the 2:10 minutes “birth”. The guitar is the central instrument in here for the first minutes, before strings and piano join in and lead to harmonic, unexcited listen.
2. Kreis
The second track of the album is Kreis (“Circle”). The song makes use of the longer runtime and is much more theatric and dramatic than the predecessor. The song is creating a beautiful climax some 30 seconds before its end, before it is slowly fading out – the circle feels to close.
3. Alea
Alea is the next track. My press reference is rather limited, but I guess it is referring to the Latin word for dices. The track initially feels more frisky and works with uplifting guitar lines. However, the song has a rather intense part in its core part as well, in which for example the cello is taking over the key presence.
4. Reset
The Reset is one of the two songs released before the album. The cellos open the album with an almost creaking sound. The violin melodies almost feel to fight against this dissonance. A very catching, entertaining battle of the instruments.
5. Kinderlied I
The middle section of the album consists of four songs named as Kinderlied (“Children’s’ song”) and numbered from 1 to 4. Kinderlied I has some very cheeky and playful parts, but there is also quite a dramatic and intense touch in it. Don’t expect a guitar version of the Teletubbies theme song in here, indeed.
6. Kinderlied II
Kinderlied II opens with gently plucked guitar chords. Overall, the song is much more harmonic. The higher notes on top of the bassy bed of notes even have a bit of a lullaby character to me.
7. Kinderlied III
The set of songs are so different – the third song has a hymnic and majestic character. The strings dominate and create a very present and memorable melody. Finally, this one is my melodic favorite of the album.
8. Kinderlied IV
The strings are in focus in the fourth version of the set as well. There are also some percussion sound with add a bit to the young and reckless character of the song. Nonetheless, I felt closer to other songs of this four piece cycle.
9. Abschied
The Abschied (“Farewell”) adds a very different component to the album. Melancholy and pain can be felt in the melodies, the bass and cello create a deep sound. A very impressive listen.
10. Tod
The character of Abschied is continuing in this song, Tod (“Death”). Especially towards the end of the song, when the music fades out and really feels to die, Malte Vief is creating an amazingly touching piece of instrumental music.
11. Trost
The Kammer cycle could close with the death, maybe. However, the two remaining songs give it a very special touch. The Trost (“solace”) leads to a significantly more positive touch of the song. The eleventh track also reminds of elements you listened to before, like good memories about a beloved person.
12. Eterna
Eterna is a beautiful farewell from the album. The song is majorly having very reduced and limited parts, which are creating an amazing atmosphere. This leads to a very touching experience.
Malte Vief – Kammer III – Spotify
Here is Kammer III on Spotify:
Malte Vief – Kammer III – My View
Of course, it is some sort of experiment for me to get into an album like Kammer III. But I just felt it is very interesting when I got it – and I more and more loved it during the review. If you give it a chance, Malte Vief is taking you into beautifully told stories, which don’t need a single word. I am very happy that I allowed him to take me on this trip.
Instrumental Music
Here are all postings about Instrumental Music:
All “classic” blog posts
No reviews – just debating and certain topics – these are my “traditional” blog posts in the categories Just blogging, Just blogging on music and Sports Blogging: