Dirk Serries, John Edwards

“‘Melancholia’ is, perhaps, a somewhat misleading title for the duet of John Edward (double bass) and label boss Dirk Serries (acoustic guitar). One might expect some sad music, a soft thud on the bass, a few strums on the acoustic guitar, but it is clear that these men deal with a different kind of melancholia right from the start. In the two pieces (forty-four minutes), I think there is a mutual agreement between the two to work along dynamic lines. They cut out the middle ground, it seems. The music is loud or quiet, explosive or controlled. Maybe, not ‘or’ buy ‘and’. In their explosiveness, the music seems to have control anyway, almost as if they agreed upon certain things, and I am (also?) sure they didn’t do this. There is chaos, nervousness, and hecticness throughout, even in the quietest of moments. The liner notes (again!) mention ‘playfulness’, which is not something I took from the music. Unrest and immediacy would be my keywords to the music. Maybe it is playful, but it might be different playing. There is an interesting tension between these players, which one hears in the music (well, I do), and that tension works for me very well. Certainly, some of this has to do with the music being very upfront and direct (just as with Jackson/Webster release), which makes an escape not really possible. You can only sit back and listen and don’t do much else. I guess that’s what good music should do (and yes, I know music can be used in many different ways also)” - Vital Weekly