Vocal artist Robert Polsterer from Vienna has released his new album Schall & Rauch (Transient Shadow) under the name Umnachter Project. He plays the Western guitar, didgeridoo and jaw harp and uses a Human Beatbox as well as different kinds of vocal techniques to interpret 12 purely "instrumental tracks."

Polsterer is a gifted musician, having a voice with an enormous acoustic spectrum, from growling bass to archaical overtone singing. The musical journey starts off with hypnotic singing and dramatic rhythms on "Kleingeist" ("Small Minded") and leads us to classic guitar playing combined with alpine yodeling techniques on "Von Hinnen" ("From Here"). "Wurzelwicht" ("Goblin") stands out with the brilliant combination of jaw harp, didgeridoo, human whistling and hauntingly beautiful singing, and "Con Fuoco" is a perfect showcase for his brilliant guitar playing.

"Elegie der Irrwische" ("Elegy of the Flibbertigibbet") is a pure a cappella performance and an impressing showdown of this extraordinary vocal artist. The journey finds his end with "Nach Dannen" ("To There") and the mesmerizing playing together of guitar and jaw harp, before Polsterer is hailing "Da Capo" in several pitches.

The album is an outstanding conceptual work that offers poetic echoism, melancholic airs and fiery rhythms. Polsterer cannot be compared or put in a certain frame. It's world music, classic guitar playing, vocal artistry with a whiff of folk and experimental music. I just loved it.