Freetrapper D.S. & Durga 2011

In the northwest of the USA lies the state of Oregon, which, despite its hip metropolis Portland, always remains a bit in the shadow of glamorous California to the south and the more northerly Washington with its dramatically more scenic landscapes and the even more famous Seattle. In the south of the state of Oregon lies its only national park - and in the middle of this national park is the crater lake that gives it its name, a volcanic crater filled with rainwater over the millennia. And in the middle of this crater lake floats an old tree stump, first mentioned in 1896, but it had already been there for quite some time - upright, now covered with lichens and moss. The locals call this stump, which is probably that of a hemlock tree, 'Old Man of the Lake'.

Many, if not all, of the previously used images can be found in D.S. & Durga's Freetrapper - or at least are quoted from it. There is a hint of a barren landscape, indecisive in its aromatic universe between north and south - resinous, herbal, gray-green-brown. There are echoes of old wood, which could be coniferous wood or driftwood - or perhaps both? There is something mineral and something that sometimes almost has an aquatic quality. There is something archaically masculine, rough, perhaps coarse. And there is something very clear, accentuated, and almost luminous - just like the sky over Oregon reflects in the clear, azure waters of Crater Lake. There is a scent that tells a lot about this distant, wild, and untouched land - and yet it is more likely to be found in Portland's bars, in Vancouver, or Seattle. But because it can tell such a beautiful story - who cares?

Conclusion: you don't just 'stop by' Crater Lake - it's a five-hour drive from Portland, and even six from San Francisco. And when the lake is shrouded in fog, you might not see the Old Man of the Lake again. To all those who are unlikely to make it there, a try of D.S. & Durga's Freetrapper is therefore highly recommended. And for those who do make it, actually, it is too.