Monika Khot, die vielen als Teil der neopsychedelisch angehauchten Acts Zen Mother und Daughters bekannt ist, bringt ihr drittes Album unter ihrem Soloprojekt Nordra heraus – “Pylon III” ist feinsinnig gestaltetes und eher aufwühlendes Werk ambienter und zugleich songorientierter Elektronik, das die brachiale, kämpferische Monumentalität des Vorgängers in eine vordergründig ruhigere Bahn lenkt. Wie die ersten Teile wurde die Musik des neuen Longplayers für Tanzperformances geschrieben.
“Nordra’s third full-length continues her penchant for chilling digital drones, thunderous clatter, polyphonic idiosyncrasies, and a search for a harmonious balance between wrangling sounds out of new technology while exerting an undeniable human presence over the machinery. This final factor was of particular importance to choreographer/multi-media artist Colemxn Pester, who enlisted Khot to score their modernist dance performance trilogy PYLON, which explores the themes of resilience in the age of technology, surveillance, and other man-made impositions on the human body. Nordra’s second outing, the commissioned score for PYLON II, was a hard-edged martial exercise—fitting for the dystopian nature of the series’ second installment. But for PYLON III, Pester was looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and requested that Khot instill her work with hope and calm in order to serve the utopian aims of the performance.
[...]Digital hisses, the clatter of machinery, and the doomsday clock-tick of the hi-hat nudge the tone back into dire settings while swells of pocket trumpet and ethereal choral vocals struggle to provide solace. The duality of hope and despair was perhaps inevitable given the climate around PYLON III’s creation, with Khot dealing with a close friend’s cancer diagnosis and Pester’s performance preparations interrupted by technical setbacks and injured dancers.” (Sige Records)

Porträtfotos © Elanor Petry