dictaphone - poems from a rooftop (deluxe limited cd)

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*Deluxe canvas bound book packaging limited to 450* It's been a while since we've had new music from Dictaphone and "Poems From a Rooftop" arrives with pretty lofty expectations. Oliver Doerell and Roger Doering have been joined by Alexander Stolze on violin for this latest excursion and the results are quite lovely. Each sound on "Poems From a Rooftop" feels purposeful. Yet, throughout each composition it feels as though things could crackle and fade into dust. There's a real delicacy to Dictaphone's multi-faceted exploits and it's that fragility that makes it shine. The trio do a great job of taking analog and acoustic elements and combining them with electronic rhythms and other synthetic sounds. While there are certainly jazz elements at play here (horns, upright bass, etc.) the record is more defined by the electronic elements and a sense of whimsy. This is music that you keep behind glass. – Brad Rose, Experimedia

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Oliver Doerell and Roger Doering's Dictaphone might not be the most prolific project around, but what they lack in frequency they make up for in sheer impact. 'Poems from a rooftop' is their third album in ten years, and is the first to feature new member Alexander Stolze on violin. The dusty, haunted jazz of 'M.=addiction' and 'Vertigo II' is still visible, but joined by Stolze's shimmering string tones, giving the already rich sound a further layer of depth. The title 'Poems from a rooftop' comes from Iran's 'green revolution', where people were so afraid to go out on the street that they emerged on their own rooftops to protest the stifling regime. This sentiment carries into the conflict and shrouded mystery in each song, from the rhythmic, emotive bar-room crawl of 'The Conversation' to the phenomenal 'Rattle', led by vocalist Mariechen Danz. It seems as if 'Poems from a rooftop' catches a point in the band's career where they appear perfectly at ease with their sound, and able to distil the jazz, subtle electronics and haunting ambience of their previous records into one deftly coherent whole. The result is an arresting, and poignant narrative record which is sure to stand as their finest to date. 'Poems from a rooftop' is proof that the greatest poems might not even need lyrics at all, and Dictaphone manage in a flurry of notes to carry more emotion than an entire script of languid language. These are, without a doubt, poems you won't be so quick to forget.