CD, Nextera, 2007
www.nextera.cz
The Ex Ovo Orchestra performed that cold February night in Dresden. Born as an improvisational experiment for artists who contributed to the “I, Mute Hummings” sampler which was released by the German-based label Ex Ovo, it also served as a base for the collaboration between Mirko Uhlig and Dronæment. And to make a long story short, the first fruits of this collaboration are presented to you by the Czech label Nextera, who you might recognize from releases by Lustmord, The Hafler Trio or Klaus Wiese. Yes, we have entered the realm of true sound artists.
The two artists who wrote “Farewell Fields” each already earned more than an ocassional liner-note. Mirko has been active for several years already as Aalfang Mit Pferdkopf and, under his own name, he released on amongst other labels Ex Ovo, Field Muzick and Drone Records. Marcus from Dronæment started his project on the border between two centuries and since then some twenty releases have seen the light of day on labels just as impressive as the ones who featured Mirko’s work.Yes, we are talking about a new generation of soundartists and the natural question that follows is “What can we expect musically?”
An hour’s worth of minimal drone-influenced ambience. In “Para Puri” a theme of no more then four notes played on a guitar, mixed and intermitted through voices of unknown origin. “Fields (live)” forms the second half of the CD and, in contrast to the first track, it makes more use of different notes and the harmony created by the combination of them. “Fields (live)” might well have been recorded during that earlier mentioned performance of the Ex Ovo Orchestra because the date at venue are the same. The feeling you are left with after the track has finished is a feeling of having missed an opportunity of a lifetime…
[8.5/10]
— Bauke van der Wal