DETLEF KELLER: Harmonic Steps DBLCD
The first CD features a six part suite called 'Electronic Steps' and lasts a shade under seventy four minutes. Now I THINK he's trying to do something that many others have tried to do - and many others have failed to succeed - and that is to combine "trad" synth with more "contemporary" electronic music, to produce what effectively could be called "ambient trance with melodies". So, how's he done? Well, the answer is "pretty good". He's succeeded by slowing down the trance rhythms to a pace that matches the synth/piano melodies, string synth drifts and cosmic synth surrounds, so that it becomes an album that is 75% trad synth and 25% trance-ambient, which is about right for the synth market and way off beam for the trance fans, being far too slow and sweet for the latter to derive any enjoyment out of it. That said, for synth fans who want chunky beats and solid rhythms from electronic drums, sequencers, synths and rattling electro-percussives, it works well, the nearest to dancefloor being the almost 'I Feel Love' style sequencers that appear six or so minutes into 'Step 4' and even here it sounds so in place. Overall, the musician composes a wealth of tunes, melodies and romantic interludes on top of the almost non-stop rhythmic undercurrents, and the whole thing, for a synth album with more bite and depth than most of its kind, ends up being something both accessible and enjoyable, without going too far off in any one direction to the detriment of the warm feel and atmosphere that he's trying to provide.
The second CD is a ten part, sixty-three minute suite called 'Piano Steps' and consists of both piano and synths. In the hands of someone such as Keller who can sure write a good melody, the whole thing is exactly what you'd expect - a semi-classical sounding suite of electronically derived strings and brass, with a piano lead throughout, lots of depth, and lashings of tunes. If you're an old romantic - or just simply old in the head - you'll love this. If you want anything that doesn't resemble the entire contents of a Tate & Lyle factory, then you'd best stay away as they don't come much sweeter than this.
KRAFTWELT: Retroish
11 tracks and just under seventy minutes of music from Danish band who unashamedly wear their Kraftwerk influences, well and truly on their sleeves. But to the unmistakable rhythmic drive, they add more depth, more tonal coloration, more ideas and come up with a wholly substantial sound that exudes the human touch. There is a lot more musical variation here than on a Kraftwerk album, with more melodies, a generally fuller sound, more power at the bottom end and a generally more substantial and cohesive set of compositions. Some tracks even become an almost techno-Kraftwerk but with melodies and that all-important "feel" still well in evidence. Taken at a variety of paces, but always with melody at the core of the compositions that are built on well produced rhythmic foundations, there isn't a track on the album that doesn't seem to fit ion the whole organic "flow" of the tracks. Even the more percussive sounding rhythms are embellished with enough musical substance to take them beyond the "minimal" style that the opening may suggest. Overall, if you're into Kraftwerk and La Dusseldorf and want an album that's solid and enjoyable, full of ideas without becoming repetitive or boring, than this album's for you but hurry - it's already deleted by the label and there are only a handful to be had.
M.A.S.S.: The Mythos Of Electronic Music 3CD SET
Well, it's over three and a half hours long!!! Features 50 tracks, no less, with most, if not all, cover versions of synthesizer music classics from the likes of Jarre, Vangelis, Hammer, Moroder, and more. With most tracks averaging a running time of around four minutes or so, the ten and a half minute 'Bolero' being the odd exception, the emphasis is on tunes, rhythms, melody, strength, atmosphere and accessibility. It's a sort of reinterpreted greatest hits of the commercial end of synthesizer music and, if that's an idea that pleases you, then this is more than worth the asking price.
NODE: Node CD
It might be ten years old but it sounds every bit as good now as it did back then - and even now, it's still ahead of its time, while unashamedly looking back even further. In essence, they took the whole of what constituted the early seventies "Berlin School" pioneers of synth music, but rather than simply trying to become a clone of one of them, they used this as a springboard to create their own "Berlin School" and to this day, it's that approach which makes this album unique. Beginning with the nine minute 'Clock', the listener is immediately plunged into a world of space synths, deep rivers of bass and space effects that range from drifting synths to snarling guitar layers, as the rhythms do indeed morph and mutate into clock-like structures before returning to a more chunky rhythm over distant echoed piano that has its roots in things such as 'Rubycon' only here, ALL you get is the piano and the most distant whisper of synths as the track slowly fades out all the other layers - and ends. Then it's the eight minute 'Olivine' which starts from a distance and fades up as the rhythms tick away once more and sequencers are added to the electro-percussive drive. All around is a hushed atmosphere of the faintest electronic space before more sequencers slowly appear and the track begins to take flight, although even now, there's little in the way of melody lines above the many and varied rhythms, although that cosmic feel is retained effortlessly. Then the whole thing really builds as sequencer rhythms and space synths create a world of swirling electronic bliss that is both heavy and atmospheric at the same time. Then it's into the twelve minute 'Slapback' - the motherlode - seventies Tangerine Dream to a breath - heavy rolling sequencers, space synths, shifting layers, more sequencers, squally guitars and cosmic menace, finishing with three minutes of space music heaven - all here to perfection on a swirling, driving track that you really don't want to end.
The first three of the twelve minutes of 'Levy' consist of space synths drifting and meandering before a sequencer rhythm begins and all manner of stereo-panning and atmospheric effects are heard as the synths swoop and dive while the sequencer rhythms become heavier and more direct. Around six minutes the guitar joins in but rather than soloing, it becomes another part of the multi-layered sound that is now swirling from ear to ear and rising up in waves of atmospheric and sequenced synth propulsion. This time it's the seventies Tangs in another dimension, but it sounds just superb. Another suitably '71-era Tangs slice of cosmic music finishes the track to perfection. Finally, the near fifteen minute 'Propane' ends the album without a melody or sequencer in sight as it spends its life in sonic sculpting mode, the feel of the seventies allied to the drifting and tranquil nature of the track. Overall, then, totally timeless, not a second wasted and one stunning album.
OBSERVATION POINT: Multiplex CD
The opening track to this new studio album is the way am ambient-synth album should begin - take a theme, a chord sequence that is absolutely gorgeous, brief and hypnotic, repeat it throughout the track, and embellish it with subtle synth surrounds that keep your attention as the main focus of attention rings out. This is followed by a more drifting, amorphous track that builds its soundscapes slowly but is also very busy with textural ripples, deep droning bass, soaring full-sounding space synths and shimmering electronic layers that are simply beautiful yet have an eerie undercurrent. Track 3 starts with sampled voices then moves into a cosmic synth drift before a sudden solid electro-percussive rhythm rattles in only to disappear soon after to leave the spacey synth drift to take you to the end of the track, once again, ethereal, warm and hypnotic. Track 4 is equally relaxing, this time with electric piano chords that appear, hang then dissolve, above the sparest of percussive clattering and then, from below, a deep well of synth space drifts upwards and spreads all around, as the repeated chords become clearer and the slow percussive motif continues, the whole thing being so relaxed and tranquil as it fades to the far distance. Track 5 spends the first two minutes in full-sounding, edgy but glorious space synth mode as the electronic river flows by. Then an undulating, slow percussive beat appears and the whole sound and pattern of the synth drift changes shape as undercurrents rise up and fade away, the main space now occupied by a repeating set of ringing synth chords, the slow rhythm and shaker percussion, all very hypnotic. Just short of six minutes, it changes shape again, this time becoming a pure cosmic music river of textures and electronic layers, bass depths and almost choral layers, taking the track to its conclusion. Track 6 starts as space synths then becomes a sequencer led slice of almost "Berlin School" styled electronics to take it to the end. Track 7 is purely cosmic drifts, while track 8 starts as that before changing shape, this time into a world of slowly enveloping synth expanses, distant lurching bass beats, hand-bells ringing away, those trademark deep bass undercurrents welling up from below and an almost bagpipe-like space synth subtly there in the mix. This takes you to five and a half minutes whereupon it all fades bar the distant synth drift to leave echoey el piano-like chords, subtle textural electronics that float around and occasional percussive splashes that appear and fade, as a lead synth appears briefly at intervals along the way, all very busy yet reflective at the same time. Track 9, the longest at just under ten minutes, spends about six minutes in THE most wonderful sea of slowly flowing space synths, the only interruption to this mesmerizing drift being a lightly rattling stick-like percussive clatter on top as the drift wells up and spreads even more across the musical horizon. After a couple of minutes the percussion stops, leaving the rising and falling cosmic drift to fade away into the ether. Finally, track 10 starts with fuzzy echoed electric-piano like chords as an echoed wordless vocal appears then disappears, an organ drift rises from the deep, the main refrain becomes stronger as space synths bubble up from below, the whole thing incredibly beautiful and hypnotic, but, again, with that edge that pervades the eerie yet tranquil nature of the album. A lone synths wails away on top of all this then all of a sudden it all dies away as this boinging bass synth rhythm appears and chunky synth/percussive beats are added, the opening mix of chords and voices returns, the piece gathers strength and the whole thing veritably rattles along as another synth lead, this time much louder than before, soars away on top of the now huge-sounding undercurrents, eventually it all slowly dropping away leaving another drifting end to a quite exquisite album.
OBSERVATION POINT: The Orangery Concerts CD
A single fifty one minute track recorded in 2004. The track is absolutely brilliant - it doesn't put a foot wrong. Covering a lot of dark, eerie, drifting and multi-textured space synth music, it never stays that way for too long as assorted rhythms and samples suddenly appear to give the composition added strength and drive, but there's an almost telepathic sense of composition that knows exactly when the desired effect has been achieved, and it's time to move towards the next phase of the track. Overall, it's an utterly outstanding slice of synth music that covers several musical spectrums yet remains consistent and cohesive throughout. In many ways it's both minimal yet full-sounding, so that the most cosmic of moods actually appears quite heady, while the rhythms, particularly the electronic drums or programmes, sound both solid and resonant. Excellent production rounds it off to a tee.
OMEGA SYNDICATE: Phonosphere CD
Do yourself a favour - play track 2 first, then track 1 then the rest of the album. Why? It makes sense! 'Onyx' might be the second track on the album, but the way it builds over its twenty two minute running time, is nothing short of ear-catching, starting on a river of cosmic synths and mellotrons before a slow but solid sequencer rhythm emerges, while the mellotrons still weave around the mix, and this scenario continues uninterrupted to the ten and a half minute point, when a new sequencer rhythm is added, the mellotrons fade and a high-flying lone synth melody soars on top, the sequencer rhythms slowly lurching rather than driving forward. As this continues in its rhythmic state, assorted synth melodies and layers are added and subtracted, while the whole languid nature of the track is maintained throughout, the piece ultimately concluding on a wave of sequencers and deep rumbling electronics. Then, if you go to track 1's long-winded title, you'll hear four minutes of space synths that eventually lead into a classic solid sequencer rhythm that ups the anti from the previous track and, in terms of the dynamics of listening, makes far more sense as you are propelled skywards on a wind of rhythm and soaring synths, the sequencers being the dominant force throughout the fifteen minute track. From there, it's onto the thirty minute suite that is the title track, split into 7 segments, of which 3 are around a minute long and act as cosmic link tracks while the other 4 are around seven minutes long and are where the sequencers find a home. It's an album that is atmospheric and relaxed, fine for those who love simple melodies and lots of sequencers set against a cosmic synth/mellotron backdrop, but substantial and purposeful? You'll have to judge for yourself!
PLASTIC NOISE EXPERIENCE: Maschinenmusik LTD PACKGING CD+DVD
The simplest way to put this would be a more powerful German version of Kraftwerk.. It's got the synths and rhythms with menacing vocals and solid rhythms. That said, it's way more Kraftwerk conforming more to EBM status than industrial metal. The result is this immense sea of driving rhythms and hypnotic beats with solid sequencers, pounding electronic drums and synth melodies and layers flying through the mix. With a monstrous bass thunder running through the bottom of the mix, the German vocals sound suitably dark, superbly song, often treated and the effect is like Kraftwerk with a death threat. This is the sound of heavy, commercial and substantial EBM, stunningly well played, arranged and composed, the next logical step after Kraftwerk and a portent of things to come, as "industrial dance-floor" becomes the mighty movement that will break out in 2006. There are bonus remixes on the CD courtesy of the mighty Wumpscut, Suicide Commando, Armageddon Dildos and Solitary Experiements. The DVD features 5 live tracks from 2003 and the whole package comes wrapped in a solid DVD case. Awesome!
RADIOSONIK: Winter Landscape CD
With 4 tracks from just under seven to nearly twenty-five minutes in length, the album opens with a live-remixed-in-the-studio ten and a half minute track that revolves around solid but flowing chunky electronic and electro-percussive rhythms above which assorted synths solo and fly, all quite simple, a slight Middle East flavour, as the rhythms undulate and the synths wander around on top, assorted synth surrounds providing a necessary extra backdrop. The near twenty five minute title track starts with rhythm-free slices of cosmic electronics, but above a backdrop of phased, fuzzed synths and organ-like textures, this rising and falling single note occupies the central space, sounding like the sort of thing that comes out of a metal detector when it's found its quarry, and so sodding annoying, you want to take the headphones off and throw the thing in the nearest lake. Why? What were they thinking of? No matter what else happens on the track - and the answer to that is "not a lot" as layers and textures do come and go - this annoying electronic note is always there - never going away - and this has to be one of the most annoying tracks of electronic music I've come across in aeons. After this, the near eighteen minute 'Industrial Landscape', in 2 parts, is a positive relief, starting initially with phased cosmic synth drifts, as distant chunky electro-percussive rhythms are heard, synths bubble up around the mix and a lone synth solos in silent fashion on top, the first part of the track remarkably mesmerizing, although even here they completely overdo the watery bubbling synth effects that continually rise and fall as the track continues, so much so that, by seven minutes, they too, become unutterably annoying. Luckily, by around eight minutes they stop, as do the rhythms, leaving a hissing, sprawling amorphous mass of cosmic synths to drift to a conclusion. The near seven minute second part to the piece starts with big, solid, beefy electro-percussive beats and squelchy synth rhythms as a drone wells up from below and, apart from slight additions to the volume and nature of the drone, this is the pattern that lasts pretty well most of the track, one where the repetition and slowly changing landscape, finally pays dividends.
CONRAD SCHNITZLER: Moon Mummy CD
This guy used to be in Tangerine Dream - about 34 years ago!! Since then he's produced more albums than I've had free lunches, and not one of them close to being what you'd call "commercial" or "conventional" - you get the feeling he wouldn't know a tune if it socked him on the jaw. So, I'm delighted to report that………..this one's just the same. Jeez!! There are 16 tracks between three and five minutes long and there are actually tracks where melodies rear their ugly heads , where rhythms attain an almost Kraftwerk-esque status, but he cannot resist the urge to add all these weird layers and synth effects to make it all sound so bizarre. The album is certainly varied, with no obvious flow to it, other than the fact that it moves from one state of insanity to the next. If you fancy 16 synth music glimpses into the mind of a twisted genius, then roll right up - me, I'll pass for now - my own mind's twisted enough, thank you very much!
KLAUS SCHULZE: Moondawn - Repackage+bonus Track CD
From 1976 and now sounding decidedly "of it's time", but it's a legend, of that there's no denying. The main album consists of two tracks, one, the twenty seven minute 'Floating' that is actually quite rhythmic in its own subtle way, always the track that I preferred less of the two but now sounding curiously more up to date than the twenty five and a half minute 'Mindphaser' which is the sound of Schulze tanking from the early seventies into the later seventies with a vengeance as the organ and string synths become embellished with all sorts of moog-like soloing, the twelve minute cosmic building intro suddenly erupting in a blaze of synth strings, moog wailings, organ backdrops, space synth swoops and drums - oh yes, drums! - and the drumming here is what propels this track and still gives it that spark you so fondly remember from the time you first heard it. It may sound dated, but it sure sounds good. The bonus tracks is a previously unreleased version of 'Floating' from the same sessions, and I'd be hard pressed to tell much difference between that and the original, but I daresay people who listen to the minute details of such things will find something to rivet and enthrall. But, overall, it's still a classic album in its field - one that every synth music home should have, and to my mind, way better than the more critically acclaimed 'Mirage'.
KLAUS SCHULZE: Vanity Of Sounds CD
Wondering what this is? Well, so was I. Turns out that this was the only solo Schulze CD on the, now-deleted, 10CD Box Set 'Contemporary Works 1' and many fans who didn't want to buy the collaboration-filled box set, wanted the solo set, and so it has been decided to issue it separately for them.
So, is it worth it? Actually, and surprisingly to me, it certainly is. In many ways, it's classic Schulze, the opening seventeen minute title track actually sounding scarily like 'Moondawn'-era Schulze brought into the twenty first century, complete with choppy sequences, cascading swoops, synth strings flowing in the background, those trademark cymbal splashes and - drums! - stunning slice of music that you'd forgotten was THIS good. This segues, unbroken, into the twenty three minute 'Sacred Romance' which opens with deep sounding space synth chords and a distant soloing synth before some big and beefy sequencer rhythms begin to rise from the depths as the whole piece starts to come to life, the presence of drums and percussion, just the icing on the cake as it propels itself slowly but surely into the universe of your mind. The core of what makes this track so hypnotic carries right on through, but around eleven minutes in the wheezing synth lead dies away and a couple of minutes later a more "moog"-like solo begins to fly above the slowly rolling rhythmic sea to approximately nineteen minutes when that's replaced with an acoustic guitar lead, the rhythmic sea rolling and flowing away underneath, in decidedly "sevemties" style, and this takes you to the end of the track where it fades only to be replaced before it ends by the sound of eerie electronics. These herald the arrival of the near fifteen minute 'The Wings Of String' which effectively carries on where the previous track left off, but now with a more subtle sea of lead synth work that allows the full splendours of the rhythmic and cosmic backdrops to come shining out and the effect is stunning, as it continues to build and flow for the duration of the track. Finally there's a direct segue into the twenty three minute 'From Words To Silence', the final track that, thankfully, carries on the sound, feel and mood of the rest of the album to perfection. So, overall, this is vintage Schulze - no arguing there - and anyone into classic seventies sounding Schulze with a digital sheen to the production and sound, should surely get this album as it'll be the one that you nearly missed but were oh so grateful to discover.
KLAUS SCHULZE: Angst Repackage+Bonus Track CD
A soundtrack, Jim - but not as we know it. You see, the music was written BEFORE the film was made, so the unusual step of the director making the film to the music actually occurred. Arguably as a result, here is an album that is really a rather fine album for early-mid eighties Schulze, and when compared to other things around at the time from his fair hands, stands head and shoulders above the rest. The opening six minutes of 'Freeze' has tinkling synth rhythms, light cascading sequences and slowly flowing synth melodies above a string synth backdrop, all delightfully "filmic" and almost predating some of the more jazzier stuff he'd go to produce with Namlook, many years later. The near ten minute 'Pain' is classic stuff with a huge-sounding Tangerine Dream-esque sequencer rhythm at the heart of things above which Schulze adds lead melodies, soaring synth chords and embellishes the rhythmic core, to create a corking track that has real depth, atmosphere and strength. The five minute 'Memory' features an echoed electric piano-like melody above flutey synths, deep bass chords and strings, all a tad "New Age" for Schulze but the sound of the piano-like chords really makes it work. The near nine minute 'Surrender' features rolling electronic drum rhythms at the heart of its identity as whispering synths rise up from the depths but throughout the track, it's the drums that lead the way, and I have to say, it sounds terribly eighties, but I loved it, something like a lost Blancmange or Simple Minds backing track!! The ten minute 'Beyond' returns to slowly flowing, multi-layered, rolling rhythms and cascading melodies that is the mark of the man as he builds and adds textures and layers to exquisite effect without losing sight of the atmospheric heart of the track. The gem here is a previously unreleased thirty one minute track called 'Silent Survivor' recorded around the same time as the main album, but absolutely nothing to do with it or the film. Instead it stands alone to be judged on its own merits - and you have to say that this is not only absolutely fantastic but worth the price of the CD just for this composition. It's classic Schulze -soaring strings, sequencers, rolling bass synths, more sequencers, electronic drums, flowing leads and passages that build to a height then release the tension or climb down only to build once more. This really is the sound of Schulze as you want to hear him, and it's one of the finest "unreleased" tracks you'll come across - spectacular and then some.
KLAUS SCHULZE: Das Wagner Desaster Repackaged+Bonus Track DBLCD
Forgetting the philosophy behind the thing, this is a slightly complex affair. All the tracks from the original album were recorded at two venues in 1994. However, the two near half hour tracks on the album appear here twice each - once as mixed by Schulze himself, and once as mixed, somewhat spontaneously as it turns out, by Schulze's friend Andre Zenou. After this you get the encore from the Paris concert mixed by Zenou and the encore from the Rome concert as mixed by Schulze - confused? You will be! The odd part is that, across two CD's, it all plays as one giant concert for over two hours and fifteen minutes and is so blindingly good music that you completely forget on CD 2 that you're listening to an hour of music that you've just (almost) heard on CD1. When all is said and done, this is classic Schulze at his live concert best and the playing on here represents the best modern live album which, in the company of the incendiary 'Dresden' live album (presumably to be reissued shortly), make up two, oft forgotten, but absolutely essential listening, slices of Schulze music. The bonus track is taken from a concert in Spain three years earlier in 1991, lasts just under twenty minutes, is the encore from the concert and somehow manages to mix opera, jazz, 'X'-era strings, classic synth and classical guitar into one gigantic melting pot to produce a track that, even by Schulze's standards, is positively bizarre but utterly fascinating.
SEQUENCES: Issue 31 MAGAZINE+CD
New look issue with an A5 size and, it has to be said, punchier looking magazine, housed inside a DVD sized plastic case with a bonus CD to boot - and it's all rather excellent. For a start, the magazine features an exclusive interview with Robert Schroeder, an interview with the guy out of Synthetik, the usual pages of album reviews and more. The CD is a staggering seventy nine minutes long and is one of the finest CD's of music that the magazine has ever issued. The opening track from Indra is truly mind-blowing and you can see why Mick put this on first. It take sequencers into a whole new dimension where others couldn't even dream of going - how on earth the guy gets the sound of the sequencers and accompanying electro-percussive rhythm to sound almost ethnic is unreal, but this solid rhythm just drives forward as all around synths dive and swoop, while above that assorted melodies fly sky-high and the whole thing has a solid structure to it that really makes you sit up, take notice and want to go out and buy the album immediately - but it's a preview track, so you can't - instead you'll just have to play all magnificent fourteen minutes of this piece, over and over again right here. After this track, you feel it's almost immaterial what the rest sounds like, but then it's the turn of Masami Asahina, another name new to me, a Japanese female living in the USA and producing unashamedly romantic space synth music that evokes the sort of music which used to come out on Hearts of Space label in the eighties - all lush, string-laden, full sounding and dreamy with added piano ripples to accompany the gorgeously drifting and flowing synths, five minutes of heaven. The Alpha Wave Movement track took me by surprise - a band I can usually take or leave this is a rhythmic track with heart and soul, solid and propulsive with a distinctly Moroccan feel to it as drums and sequencer rhythms, strings and leads all evoke the sound of the Middle East on a track that is simply spellbinding, the only shame being that it only lasted five minutes. Even though there isn't a bad track on the CD, other highlights include the magnificent, sequencer-laden eight minutes from Volt, recorded live at the "E-Live" festival in 2005 and sounding just spectacular, the near ten minute Ian Boddy track recorded live at "The Gathering Concert Series" in 2004, the seven minutes of solid space music that is the live exclusive from Craig Padilla & Skip Murphy as well as tracks from Ramp, Stephen Parsick, Kelvin Smith, Synthetik & Etherfysh.
All in all, a spectacular CD and a great read - the project goes from strength to strength.
KELVIN SMITH: The Dreaming Mind CDR
Latest studio album sees 13 tracks over forty nine minutes and in many ways straddles a line between cosmic synth music with occasional slowly lurching rhythms and down-tempo ambient with more space synths and layers of tonal coloration. The pace of the album as a whole is pretty slow, with most tracks relying on atmosphere and feel for effect, but to be fair, nothing is allowed to stand still or drift, the number of tracks meaning that one idea can be put on show before the next one comes along, nothing outstaying its welcome. A lot of it is very spacey and cosmic in a full-sounding way while other parts are more "ambient" in the Eno sense of things, with stark, ethereal layers of string-sounding drifts giving way to single-note leads that hang suspended or floating chords that ebb and flow, as synths and keys provide the soundtrack to closed eyes and a wandering mind. For sheer atmosphere and feel, you have to say it's the best album he's done so far. The occasional chunky rhythms provide necessary strength and extra solidarity to an album that largely drifts, and seem totally appropriate in their placing. Overall, you'd have to recommend it as it doesn't readily sound like anyone else but is pretty darned consistent throughout its running time, a couple of factors that seem definitely to apply to many of the UK synth musicians who are definitely able to come up with original music that doesn't readily conform to copyist tendencies.
