By Pay-Uun Hiu

Huib Emmer
Modern Compositions
IKZI

Loos Ensemble

Laid-back easy listening is not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about works by composer and guitarist Huib Emmer.

This CD by LOOS celebrates the 25th anniversary of the ensemble comprising a solid team of musicians with deep-seated convictions producing granite music that is musically aesthetic. Huib Emmer, whose background is rooted in the LOOS ensemble, investigates the dimensions of electronic and acoustic sound, which is highlighted by pianist Gerard Bouwhuis in Camera Obscura and by saxophonist Peter van Bergen in Blue Distance. Both compositions are in a customary relentless style but contain crystalline beauty. When the acoustics are combined with the crackling alien sounds by Huib Emmer it makes for an other-worldly, inimitable listening experience, especially when heard through car speakers while cruising along a motorway at night.