David Moss: voice / Hanno Leichtmann: drums, electronic / Hannes Strobl: electric bass, electric upright bass, live fx
Katharina BEvand: Modular Synthezier / Recorded at Studio Doorpusher Berlin 2023/24
“Just because Denseland take inspiration from the past, doesn’t mean they’re stuck in it. On their first album since 2017, their second for arbitrary, the Berlin-based trio instead ventures slowly but steadily into unknown territory. Hanno Leichtmann and Hannes Strobl’s dub- infused, bass-heavy rhythmic minimalism in combination with lyricist David Moss’s sonorous yet deadpan delivery opens up a space that feels both claustrophobic and infinitely wide.
Like previous Denseland albums, »Code & Melody« picks up on the sparse side of dub-enamoured post-punk, no wave, post-rock, adventurous electronic and improvised acoustic music and blends this with a vocal performance marked by a Lou Reedian cool, a confrontationalism à la Lydia Lunch and, occasionally, an experimentalism akin to Scott Walker.”