F.S. Blumm is a master of the balance between depth and lightness. Even when this extremely versatile artist composes strictly reduced music of monochrome elegance, his pieces remain open and natural. With „Spiegelungen,“ the Berlin multitalent now presents an album that perfects this balance. His music seems to be airy and grounded at the same time. And although Blumm uses very different styles and instruments for this album, all the pieces share an inner calm. They are self-sufficient in their unpretentious simplicity and imaginative power. It is music that immediately conjures images before the mind’s eye.
It’s pieces like „Sonnen Mulde“ that give us the feeling of coming home. Here, F.S. Blumm opens up wide spaces and invites his listeners to linger. We hear sparkling guitar picking in „Strudelnd Aber“ and the enchanting „Licht Streu“ with its small melodies on the glockenspiel. The miniature „Polkappe Neun“ with its simple acoustic patterns and windswept sounds. The bowed double bass in „Abend Glitzert“ that spans wide arches of sound.
F.S. Blumm has many faces. Working through his vast discography would be a research project in itself. He collaborates with David Grubbs, Andi Otto, Harald Sack Ziegler, and Nils Frahm. He indulges his passion for dub reggae with the Quasi Dub Development; with the band KINN, he played dynamic post-rock. Blumm has a penchant for odd time signatures and has thoroughly explored the pattern-matching of minimal music. What his personal musical signature actually consists of remains a mystery. Yet, just a few bars are enough to recognize it. This may be due to his preference for open harmonies or his pointed arrangements.