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Info
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| Artist: |
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Xeltrei |
| Title: |
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Litotes |
| Label: |
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Symbolic Interaction (Japan) |
| Genres: |
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Post Rock |
| Released Date: |
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23/10/2007 |
Catalogue No.: |
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SIC003 |
| UPC: |
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| Format: |
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CD |
| Price: |
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138.00 |
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Description
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| Xeltrei is David of Library Tapes and girlfriend Erica on Piano.
Litotes are, as Webster's states, "understatement[s] in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary." In plain English, litotes are phrases, such as, "not bad", "not that wonderful" (not bad = good; not that wonderful = awful). Xeltrei's Litotes is an incredible exercise in restraint which lives up to the aforementioned concept as an amazing piece of musical understatement that still bursts with memory and meaning. Not bad, indeed.
Xeltrei hails from Sweden and consists of Erica on piano and David (of Library Tapes) on piano, field recordings, and computer. Their short album is made up of ten tracks of delicate, muffled piano melodies mixed with an array of crumbling sounds. Xeltrei explains their collaboration as "lo-fi piano music made with love." Indeed, each song is quite simple, but extremely heartfelt. The music sounds almost like a forgotten, homemade cassette where each melancholy note on the piano is allowed to resonate before it fades. Additionally, some of the shorter tracks play like small, salvaged fragments of song that fade or cut out quickly, adding to the lost and found quality of the music.
Piano is only half of the story, of course. The various found sounds and effects, add to the atmosphere. These manipulations enhance the feeling that this is a lo-fi recording affected by incidental noise. The real success of Litotes is that it draws the listener into this simulated space with its sonic quirks. It is extremely easy to become lost in thought listening to this album, placing yourself inside the sound and remembering your own versions of the personal moments reflected in the music.
Truly, it is rare that an album can say everything it needs to say so subtly. Litotes is the perfect compliment to memories of days past with its dual senses of history and melancholy. It's a credit to the music that something so minimal and understated could brim with so much feeling and thought. Xeltrei has succeeded in creating an essential piece of mood music that is both achingly beautiful and timeless. 10/10 --FOXY DIGITALIS
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Link
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| http://www.myspace.com/xeltrei
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Track List
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| CD | | | | | 01 | Letargi | | | 02 | Frugal | | | 03 | Litotes | | | 04 | Korossion | | | 05 | Trampolin | | | 06 | Karuseller | | | 07 | Porslin | | | 08 | Sicksack | | | 09 | Landfotografi | | | 10 | Granser |
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