The International Nothing - In Doubt We Trust (Ftarri, 2018)

The International Nothing - In Doubt We Trust (Ftarri, 2018)

I'll admit that I've never been much of a fan of the German clarinet duo The International Nothing. Their music is weird, minimal, and abstract. They straddled a thin line between dead-serious contemporary experimentation and odd ironic humour – it was never something I could make any sense of. Despite all of that, I've always made time to listen to anything the group released. It was clear to me that The International Nothing were working with something special and unique, even if I couldn't pin down exactly what that was. I'm glad that I kept on listening, because In Doubt We Trust, the group's fifth album in 12 years, is fantastic.

In Doubt We Trust doesn't represent a massive change of sound for the band, just a change of thought. For those unfamiliar with the project, The International Nothing is the duo of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke. The two musicians are equipped with nothing more than clarinets – Fagaschinski plays on the right channel, and Thieke on the left (and this has been true for all of their work, including their work within the avant-pop quartet The Magic I.D.). Although Fagaschinski and Thieke are likely best known as improvisers, in The International Nothing they play their own (predictably minimal) compositions. For the majority of their albums' durations, the duo can typically be found exchanging soft repetitive tones and crafting bizarre resonating harmonies. At other times they'll be investigating extended techniques which are too complicated to adequately explain with words.

All previous International Nothing albums have included multiple tracks, ranging from 6 to 8. In Doubt We Trust is a single 37-minute piece. Although this may not seem like a big deal, this plays a huge role in why I so much prefer this album. On the old albums, the tracks felt like sketches. Each song was an exploration a couple of fairly simple ideas, which they'd flesh out for five to ten minutes. The format lent itself to having plenty of interesting moments, but it also resulted in albums with plenty of unnecessary repetitions of ideas and little in the way of cohesion. On In Doubt We Trust, things don't truly work so differently. The piece is essentially just a series of short songs, edited together end-to-end. Regardless of how the work was actually created though, it flows beautifully, resembling movements in a symphony instead of independent pieces thrown together to make an album.

In addition to the album's incredible flow, it also seems to have much more focus on atmosphere and the emotions that it may result in than the duo's other releases. I'd hesitate to call it an emotional album, but there's certainly something uncanny about its ambiance. The harmonies that the duo constructs are odder than ever. They aren't overly dissonant, but they're rarely traditionally beautiful either. I guess they're just, well, odd. What it reminds me most of is illogical harmonies, the German duo of violinist Johnny Chang and bassist Mike Majkowski (who some might remember from their wonderful 2016 debut on Another Timbre, Volume). On that record, illogical harmonies created exactly what the title suggests, using a process which relied on improvisation and transcription. Both The International Nothing and illogical harmonies clearly have a strong grasp of how harmonies work and how they affect their listeners – and they both choose to subvert it in their own ways. It results in a unique, but uncomfortable, experience. The music almost feels like classical music from a different world, where the laws of harmony and sound are completely different.

During many moments on the album, Fagaschinski and Thieke are performing nearly identical lines. It may seem redundant at times, or overly simple, but it's that "nearly" which makes these moments so enchanting. Sometimes one clarinet will come in slightly late, or hold onto a note for slightly longer, or apply a different modulation. When there's two sounds being heard that are completely different, the brain can easily and comfortably differentiate the two sounds. However, when the sounds are just slightly different, the brain's concentration feels more complicated. We hear the common note being played, and we can absorb that, but we become very attracted to that slight difference. It's in that slight difference where some of The International Nothing's greatest strengths reside.

The album has some sparse melodic moments as well, which is something that they've always experimented with. It probably goes without saying that the melodies that the duo stirs are up are completely weird and will supply the listeners with a gut feeling of "this is all wrong". And that's true, they are all wrong, but they do somehow fit in inside the world of this weird, awkward album. And interestingly, I found that after several listens these melodies have even become affecting, and moving, in a very alien way. There's a moment towards the end of the piece where a simple melody, which may otherwise seem lovely, is slowed to a snail's pace and dissected. It will never not feel off, but once a listener becomes comfortable with the musical world of The International Nothing moments like this begin to make sense, even feeling genuine and powerful.

Before I wrap up, there is one last particular moment I'd like to mention, which occurs at approximately the halfway point and last for 5 minutes. Fagaschinski performs in some bizarre technique that sounds a lot more like scrunching newspapers than a clarinet. Thieke begins to play soft notes and louder squeaks. The moment is so completely odd and nonsensical, especially when sandwiched in-between two of the piece's most listenable and harmonic sections. To me, it works as a bit of a breather, or a palette cleanser. It gives me very little to think about, and even feels relaxing in its own way. I single out this section, because I think it creates a good reference for what this album is all about. In Doubt We Trust is all about creating a musical world which is very different from ours – and that's the kind of world where the sounds of crackling, squeaks and pops can operate as a refresher in a clarinet duo performance.

In Doubt We Trust is so much more than just weird, though. The International Nothing has assembled something multi-faceted, otherworldly, and intriguing. The performances, which I've barely mentioned, are phenomenal; there are very few other instrumentalists who play their instruments like these two do. Whether you can understand In Doubt We Trust or not, I think most experimental music fans will be able to recognize it as something special; and I'll vouch for it never having a dull moment.

In Doubt We Trust is for sale in both digital and CD copies from the artist's bandcamp:
https://theinternationalnothing.bandcamp.com/album/in-doubt-we-trust

Directly from the label on CD:
http://www.japanimprov.com/cdshop2/index.html

As well as on CD from ErstDist:
http://www.erstwhilerecords.com/distro.html