Record of the Week—> Läuten der Seele “Unterhaltungen mit Larven und Überresten” (World Of Echo) Christian Schoppik opens up a new chapter with his newest for World of Echo, coming quickly after the final Brannten Schnüre album and the closing of the water trilogy under this Läuten der Seele project. Admittedly, the change isn’t that drastic, Schoppik’s crackling collage of German folk and classical records are still the essential building blocks, but he’s joined here by Austrian outsider artist Jürgen Weber. A heavy influence on both Brannten Schnüre and Läuten der Seele, Weber’s Nový Svět duo deal in a similar strain of industrial loops and cryptic folk seances, Schoppik’s own Quirlschlängle imprint eventually returning the favour with an archival release from Nový Svět that arrived back in 2022. As you’d imagine, their two worlds blend seamlessly, Weber’s weary, almost resigned tone, entirely sung-spoken in German, is a voice of the present connecting to apparitions of the past. While Schoppik’s hauntological summonings whir and spark just off their axis, Weber’s vocals re-align what would normally be a continuous montage into something more traditional, at least what could be deemed conventional for this pair. If you can imagine Meitei meeting Einsturzende Neubauten at the turn of the century during their turn towards methodical industrial-folk, then you’re somewhere close to the duo’s incandescent magick. Really stunning stuff.