Ah Cama-Sotz Declaration of Innocence

While listening to „Declaration of Innocence” I once again reach the same – obvious as may be – conclusion that the number of tones the beautiful music may take is limited only by sensitivity, experience and emotions of an artist.
The beauty might be expressed by mystery, music discoveries, experimenting with instruments, presenting rare inspirations or quite the opposite: by exploring the familiar soundscapes, classical arrangements that appeal to a listener by simple, noble form.



The recent release of Ah Cama-Sotz stands out mostly because, unlike with other albums of the artist, it lacks intensive dynamism and hyper-energetic impacts. Its atmosphere is calm, concentrated, even meditative and moderate. There are no melodic extravagances or expansive novelty thanks to which the said beauty may enfold and speak in a pure, undisrupted and unpretentious manner.

Although the lively tones do occur (like at „Isfahan” - where I could also hear some jazz(?) tints – or at „Akhirah”), they are not as murderous as Ah Cama-Sotz got us used to.
Marvelous, gentle, elevated motives prevail („When Dreams Collide”, „Warszawa”); there are also stratified, gradually arising melodic pyramids („Lines are Sacred”, „Offering | Sacrifice”), exotic motives („Voices in the Dark”) or orchestral elements („Declaration of Innocence † Aralim”).

Above all, however, „Declaration of Innocence” sounds like an album-pendulum...the pendulum which swings between the East and West, Christianity and Islam, referring to musical motives, eschatology or religion of both cultures, putting them together in a bloodless way at one disc without creating an impression of an impudent manifesto.

Oriental inspirations intertwine with the “western” ones as if Herman Klapholtz was playing with music memory, unconsciously inscribed music patterns of a listener, starting a game of „familiar” or „unfamiliar” sounds. That, at least, was my reaction when, after having listened to the tangle of the first four pieces, I had an impression of jumping on the hop-scotch drawn between Europe and Middle East.
Both worlds, though different and evoking entirely distinct reactions, stand for separate pieces of one music puzzle. And they match... without dissonance.