Kepler said more than 400 years ago that Planets were actually quite entertained singing it up in the sky. Weird, but that’s one major piece of discovery for Astronomy: it was the laws of planetary motion. It is said also that every color, stone, sunset, the human body and even a telephone line is perfectly tuned, that there’s music even when a leaf falls from a tree.

If we see the world through a musician’s glasses, there’s in fact a melody coming from every part of the world, we’re surrounded; emotions too have a very important role: they can paint yellow into blue, white into black…

We’re all acquainted with the idea that every album tells a story, and Hauschka has one to tell about landscapes in a rather unmatched and virtuous way: classical tones, no human voice, an orchestra and experiences translated into chords and piano notes, such are the feelings an image, a common factor may evoke in a human being. The album? Foreign Landscapes.

Foreign Landscapes is also a mosaic made of  classical structures and bits of experimental and rather contemporaneous elements: the sound of steel, distortions, sometimes the sound of a metronome, all under the cover of chamber music: an ensemble of violins, cellos, flutes, all in the middle of a intimate conversation,  mathematical order and strong discipline towards each other.

A violin starts playing, all by itself; the sound would be from a distant memory or walk through a park under grey skies, then wind. Violins guiding the scenario of an everyday walk with a fixed destination: an office, our home, our hopes. It’s the sound of classical music with a hint of contemporaneous flavor, with a strong and somewhat German heritage foundation. A moment of joy, hurry, then deep thought. An introduction, development, recapitulation with an undeniable precision, that’s our first track, ‘Alexanderplatz’.

A rather interesting and single sound would tell us the second track is a contemporaneous piece of music: it’s the sound of metal in capricious tempo, syncopate, then fades; this could be the perfect soundtrack of a distant and difficult walk, as one incredibly hindered to reach our objectives. The third part of the composition, as near to resolution, will be an attempt to escape from such torturous gait. ‘Iron Shoes’: the name couldn’t fit more to this song.

After our own hindrance from the second song, there’s a nostalgic air accompanied with a piano, experimental sounds like winding a broken watch, water falling from a forgotten place, still wandering. It’s an interesting piece of composition since there’s no clear structure in it, it’s all just mixed by the piano, who would converse with whoever is willing to listen with passionate nostalgia, sadness and despair through every crescendo and diminuendo, a well managed dynamic to bring our saddest memories, our saudades, and it’s called ‘Mount Hood’.

‘Madeira’ plays perfectly with one of my favorite instrument: violoncello, the main voice. Then violins would follow through all to make a structure I’m truly in love with: a canon. Other instruments, like trumpets, would come around, confronting the main statement, forming a new structure. The symbiosis existing at the conclusion of ‘Madeira’ will make a complete new structure with the violoncello now following the statement of the trumpets. This piece achieves a perfect state of lightness; I could think of a veil floating in the wind, someone / something escapes our reasoning and leaves; a full display of new freedom in music composition.

We could be following that veil ‘Madeira’ evoked and then enter a crowded and cold city, where the common sense of humanity may be fading with the frozen spirit of a routine. People walk the streets almost oblivious of other people and seem difficult to impress. This is a brown song with a spirit of chords, violins and violoncellos as backup, and then a repetitive violin line that is surprisingly juxtaposed with violoncellos, suddenly voices are connected. Syncopate, we’re trying to run away. A stressing conclusion as to what uncertainty may sound, then return to our first impression of a city.A final and sudden stop and sustained note makes ‘Union Square’ exist.

Through a window of many years ago we see ‘Snow’ (sixth track) falling, water on crystal and the colors white may represent: the whole landscape is white now and after some doubt, a violin states there’s beauty and safety, then go outside and walk. A happy and frozen denouement, which displays the sudden beauty of crystallized water in Winter time.

Almost in the middle of our tour, there’s a sigh as the backup of this piano – maybe it’s the city and it’s still dreaming – The first rays of light come, someone woke up earlier and watches the scenery sleep. This is the sound of a happy moment which makes us thank for the opportunity of just being there, for our dear lifetime. Peaceful and harmonic notes, no ornaments, just a pure emotion from ‘Early in the Park’.

There’s certain mischief achieved in the introduction of ‘Kamowaga’, like the moment some children wait until the next prey falls into their snare. Even when the atmosphere may sound dark, there’s a very strong feeling of innocence and as confirmation, the middle structure comes with soft violins in their most classical structure, as the light of hope in the middle of an unknown forest.

As the introduction of ‘Kamowaga’ may suggest, the next song talks about ‘Children’: confusion, a violin and delicate figures, as a butterfly in flight. A more complex piece, as children are.

‘Sunny Mission’ completes the rather innocent view of a landscape. It would remind me of a fairy tale, every movement being the stress of a moment, motion from a magic character we met or created in our dreams of childhood.

‘Kouseiji’, the penultimate track, will give a more sober and serious flair. After our parcour through our childhood, or just as being the narrator from a child’s dream, there’s a piano and a mysterious sound of a clock, a perfect reminder for come of age. A simple yet beautiful piano based piece to announce the end of our journey.

An album’s final track is the key as well to complete the feeling the artist could bring to our souls; ‘Troust’ may be a “thank you” song full of blue sounds and would remind me of Bach, if Bach would had had more music freedom than he was given at the time, of course. A final statement of a violin, shining in the dark atmosphere created by violoncello, such would create a new melody and will finally join the sadness of our cello base. It’s time to wake up.

It’s true that if you want to play with something as complex as classical music, the first thing you may want to do is learning all about it, first play by the rules and once you got the whole point, then you can do whatever you please. If you have any doubt about this statement, please, listen to Hauschka; you may fall in love with this serving.

Words: Tonan

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