Customer Reviews

Looping Home Orchestra

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Hollmer is the core of an odd Swedish band that began as folk musicians and gradually drifted toward prog rock with a vengeance.

His collaborater, Eino Haapala, would make a good role model for any would be guitar strummer.

Over the years, Hollmers group has been variously known as 'Zamla Mammaz Momma' or 'Milk of Mothers Breast', Von Zamla on some other great release that sounds like loopy merry go round music from hell and 'Samla.'

Again, this Hollmer guy has something rare among dour northern Euro's, a puckish sense of humor wedded to impeccable, delightful musicianship.

Looping Home Orchestra is offspring of a show at the legendary Victoriaville music fest in Quebec and also features the noted Brit guitarist, Fred Frith, on it.

Of course, I love the thing and am thrilled to own it. It's funny to me how a universe of frustrated conservatory students in the EU heard Zappa and embraced him in a heartbeat while an America that worships provincial stupidity unless a buck can be made, flatly doesn't know what to make of a brilliant pest like the mourned and missed master, Zappa.

I'd heard Lars Hollmer before as a member of Accordion Tribe (all accordions with Guy Klucevsek, Maria Kalaniemi, Bratko Bibic, and Otto Lechner) and his collaboration with Fanfare Pourpour on "Karusell Musik." Each time I hear him, his approach is unique and fresh.

On this CD, Hollmer plays his song "Karusellmusik," reprised on his more recent CD with Fanfare Pourpour. The first four songs are upbeat and cinematic, and wouldn't be out of place on a carousel. Then comes "Quickstep," living up to its title. If this delightful song is cinematic, the scene is a cartoon chase. "Moloken" slows the pace for a vocal (in Swedish) with a more "compositional" piece. "Parallell Angostura" continues the faster pace of previous songs, this time all angular and staccato, played by a very tight group. My favorite piece is "Eyeliner" (also on "Karusell Musik"), a song that would make an excellent theme for a Poirot-style mystery program. "Teatime (In Berlin)" continues the cartoon chase of "Quickstep," this time with a few humorous mishaps. "Höstvisa (Autumn Song)" starts out a bit spacy and flows into a slow, melancholy song in Swedish. "Portaletyde" features a beautiful solo on baritone sax by Jean Derome (a prominent figure in the musique actuelle, avant-garde scene in Quebec). "Ett Tungt Ok" plods with dignity. "Zanzibar" vaguely reminds me of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra (that's good in my view).

Anyway, you get the idea. The playlist is eclectic and, given the fact that these songs were recorded almost twenty years ago, amazingly fresh. And, although the music was recorded live, there is little evidence of it. The music has been edited to exclude applause (thank you) and virtually all audience noise, providing studio quality coupled with the group's live spontaneity.