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Monthly Feature. |
         
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There has always been a tendency to sort music into various types of background accompaniment: "rainy day music," "sunny day music," "highway music." A talented musician is able to forge art that transcends such limitations and creates its own mood. Inlets mastermind Sebastian Krueger is able to fire up his computer, pull out a slew of instruments, and transport any listener-subway commuter, office worker, beach bum, astronaut—into an autumn-brown, rainy, wooden world where time passes a little slower, rivers ramble softly and candles light the windows in the evening. What sets Krueger apart from the pack are his skills as a composer and curious music fans can hear a great selection of his work on the Vestibule EP for the price of a mouse clock. Released as a free download on Luv Sound, the collection contains 8 songs which place acoustic guitar-driven compositions in swirl of stark instrumentation, punctuated by lush flourishes: violins here, flutes there, complex harmonies, a banjo panned to one side, and sometimes birds ("See Her, Seer" in particular features a handful of feathered friends in the background). When the music slips into full swing, it resembles the work of Ellington or Mingus. Compared with the country/Appalachian-derived trappings of many acoustic acts, these jazz inflections help to give Inlets a fresh musical twist. Krueger's primary instrument is guitar, and together with some childhood exposure to the piano and clarinet he’s developed a solid grasp of the "physics" behind a variety of instruments. Banjo, melodica, strings and woodwinds are just a few of the sounds that can be found in his lo-fi, digital home recordings. Electronic instrumentation is kept to a minimum; with his soft, understated vocals in the foreground, Krueger's material sometimes echoes the sophisticated, organic arrangements on records such as Sufjan Steven's Seven Swans. Nature imagery frequently surfaces in the lyrics, and the arrangements compliment the words perfectly.
While Krueger admires songwriting peers who are able to construct clear-cut lyrical messages, he prefers the impressionistic approach. He's interested in hearing a fan's unique interpretations of the material and tends to avoid anything that would steer listeners in a particular direction. Krueger draws a fine line between impressionistic and impenetrable, however. It's all right if a listener develops his or her own take on a song, but as he puts it, "what good is [the music] if someone can’t understand you?" Like many musicians, Krueger struggles to find the time for his art while juggling a full time day job; it's a situation he would love to change at some point. His next CD will be a full-length record, hopefully released in 2008. Unlike his approach with Vestibule, the plan for the new material will be more "formal": a CD release, backing from a label, touring (if necessary: "I'm not sure if I’m attracted to the nature of the touring musician," he admits). Until then, music fans can explore this talented artist’s current release here: http://www.luvsound.org/release/luv012/ |
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