WIRE Magazine

These 11 duets, recorded in a cabin in the woods outside of Oslo, feature violinist Kari Rønnekleiv and composer Ole Henrik Moe, here on viola, and each is a fine example of the special sensibility that classically-trained string players bring to improvised music - it's called bow control. From the viscious sul ponticello swipes and truncated crescendi on «Forest with Brian F.» to the over-the-fingerboard microtonally inflected double stops on «For Deathprod» the album is a technical tour de force. And a musical one, too, each track structured with composerly precision. In point of fact, not all the music is improvised - «Epitaph» is a composition by Moe - but who cares when it's this good?