Stephan Thelen & Markus Reuter - Rothko Spaces, Vol. 2 (iapetus)

The resumés for each of these gentlemen boast impressive triumphs, from guitar/composer Stephan Thelen’s albums with his genre-defying band Sonar and his cosmic rocking Fractal Guitar records to touch guitarist Markus Reuter’s work as a member of Stick Men, Anchor & Burden, and, long ago, the Crimson Projekt. No strangers to any aspect of experimental music, the pair collaborate like two halves of one heart on Rothko Spaces, Vol. 2. Part of Thelan’s series paying tribute to the abstract paintings of Mark Rothko, the goal is challenging: how to convey in music the feeling given by a piece of visual art. Aesthetes with more familiarity to Rothko’s works may have a different opinion, but it feels like the pair nailed it. With Thelan’s input, Reuter lays down some towering improv, soaking his tones in feedback and distortion to produce tones and overtones that threaten to shake the walls. Thelan then layers these tracks into a cloud of samples taken from orchestral and choral performances, couching the distortion in plush envelopes of haunting atmosphere. The pair’s amalgam of textures – expansive, stately, alternately ominous and reassuring – suits Rothko’s stark beauty perfectly, exploiting the artist’s discomfiting undercurrent while maintaining his allure. Translating paintings into music is no easy task, but Thelan and Reuter do it by virtue of imagination, passion, and good taste.