Ten weeks in LA... would probably drive most of us to acts of random violence. Instead, from an apartment in Echo Park, Los Angeles, Zürich-based producer Beat Solér (aka Seelenluft) took to the bizarre contradictions and all round craziness of this insane and thrilling city like a veritable duck to water.He wrote his second full-length album, Out Of The Woods: a tableau of the fiendish, angelic and gently bonkers characters Seelenluft encountered in LA. Documenting with his minidisc and laptop, Out Of The Woods is peppered with unique vocals, unexpected tales and the odd religious incantation.The good thing about composing while traveling is that one gets inspiration from all over, Solér says. At every corner, something is lurking for which one is not prepared. One must open his spirit ? old patterns function no longer ? it takes courage to try out something new. Verily, grasshopper, it is so.So, what awaits us here on Out Of The Woods? 'LA Woman' introduces Elbautz,an Elvis-impersonator Solér met in a karaoke bar, who comes across not unlike that ol' faux Vegas crooner Louie Austen. Elbautz is now a member of Seelenluft's Silvercity Bob Orchestra live band. 'Air Condition' twinkles with the soft sighs of Lara Steward, a local indie princess. In contrast to the fire 'n' brimstone Reverend on 'Evilfrog', a passage from a transmission Solér picked up via car radio, driving through the desert. A record shop in Chinatown provided the source of the Vietnamese singers on 'Yoa Gongla', while the brilliant 'Dancing Grandma' confessional comes from a Senior Citizen's Home Revue in Palm Springs.But the album's standout track is clearly 'Manila' (already a Single Of The Month in Dazed & Confused, and pulling in rapturous reactions from DJs including Bukem, DJ Food and Layo), with the distinctive sound of a young boy named 'Mike Master' Michael Smith on the M-I-C. I met Michael Smith in Compton, where gang wars are still the order of business, Solér quivers. I visited him there with my laptop and recorded his vocal parts in one afternoon. He wants to be a fireman when grows up.Needless to say, Out of the Woods is a very different record to his previous works: the frankly marvelous Synchronschwimmer EP of 2001 (the one with the lovely dancing ladies on the cover), and his first album, The Rise and Fall of Silvercity Bob (2000): the tale of a big, furry white rabbit and his trumpet. While Seelenluft began as a sample-based artist, he has moved into the realm of instrumentalist, combining his documentary recordings with a mixture of live playing and the magic of electronix.Following his non-stop adventures in LA, he retired to his calm Swisschateau to produce the final masterpiece, with help from guest musiciansChristian Fischer (transverse flutes, apparently), Stefan Briner (sax) andMatthias Bammert (trombone). Lately, Seelenluft has also remixed for Tipsyand Freeform Arkestra and scored a film by Swiss director Nicolo Settegranacalled Ferrari.But what did Seelenluft learn from his LA sojourn? The need develops tofind clarity for oneself. To be able to detect patterns and regularities inthe chaos, in order to find one's own, small place ? out of the woods. He's right, you know.