ErstLive 005 is a 3CD set documenting a four hour performance from Erstwhile Records’ AMPLIFY festival in Berlin, 2004. Beyond the obvious challenges facing four musicians focused on one delicate detailed performance for such an extended length of time, this awesome release also challenges the listener who is used to absorbing music in hour-long chunks at a time. One of the criticisms often levelled at this type of music is its supposed harshness and coldness, making it difficult for a listener to connect with it at an emotional level. This is not the case here. If you are willing to follow the music through to this point, something very powerful begins to happen during disc three. The whole recording is a journey, from the tentative careful openings to the relative turmoil of the middle disc, to the intense, yet calming plateau of disc three. Towards the end of my third or fourth listen my involvement with this music became so intense I almost forgot to breathe... this is a very special recording. (•)
