It's been some time since Johannes has done an album of all new "Teutonic space music"
and it was well worth the wait. RECYCLE OR DIE is an incredible musical display of his talent for creating
electronic sounds and real compositions. The tone colors andf arrangements infuse the central elements of
the Berlin School sound with classicism, melody and strikingly imaginative sonic manipulations and
sequences. TD hasn't made anything nearly this good in ages.
The new solo CD from the ex-Tangerine Dream member on his own Viktoria Park
label has plenty to offer TD fans as well as those of his more experimental
and rather intellectual musical styles heard on albums such as "Wuivend
Riet" and "Songs No Words".
Schmoelling was always the experimentalist of the band during his TD days,
and so the time signatures, sound textures and compositional styles here
are far from the conventions of Berlin school music, techno pop or any
other familiar style. The opening "L'Atelier" for instance, at just 2.20,
is like a crazed, synthesized chamber piece, while "Explosive Game" has a
similarly unpredictable time signature under sampled shouts, explosions and
fuzzy synths. The title track weaves electric piano and pizzicato strings
under a filmic melody, and the origins of most tracks in "music composed
for theatre and film during the last ten years" are most obvious here.
Less obvious inclusions are three TD tracks, "Dominion" and "Midnight in
Tula" which Schmoelling co-composed, and "Stratosfear" (here spelled
"Stratosphere") which he didn't. The second and third of these are pretty
much true to the original apart from loping drumbeats, while the first is
stripped right down to an arrangement mostly for synthesized piano, strings
and flute.
The three "Italian Scratches" taken from a film project vary from piano
solo to impressionistic sampled material and include a guest electric
guitar, all very evocative of some modern detective film or other. The
closing "Electrified JS" is an uptempo version of Bach's "Concerto No. 4 in
A Major" and is pleasant enough, though typical of many other electronic
classics albums.
There's some excellent original material here, particularly the evocative
"Buda-Pest", but most purchasers new to Schmoelling will be buying the
album for his takes on the TD pieces, which some will like and some won't.
Nice presentation though with some interesting pictures of Berlin including
the back of a TD-graffiti-covered van, so a CD which is well worth getting
hold of.
(Mark Jenkins,
Ampmusic, Jan. 17th, 2004)
Nicht wenige Tangerine Dream-Fans weinen immer noch Johannes Schmoelling eine Träne hinterher,
der vor vielen, vielen Jahren die Band verließ. Doch statt zu trauern, sollte man lieber in dessen
neues Album „Recycle Or Die“ hineinhören. Dann wird klar, welch immensen Einfluss er damals auf die
Melodieführung und Harmonien bei Tangerine Dream hatte. Doch auch Johannes Schmoelling hat sich
verändert.
Seine Musik ist weniger komplex geworden, dafür eleganter, mehr auf den Punkt gebracht,
was sicherlich zeitgemäß ist. An manchen Stellen klingt es vielleicht zu locker, leicht und luftig
(im Titeltrack). Doch „Recycle Or Die“ ist zweierlei Dinge gleichzeitig: Eine Hommage an die eigene
musikalische Vergangenheit und ein Blick auf das aktuelle Werk.
Es sind drei Neueinspielungen alter
TD-Klassiker vertreten (darunter sogar „Stratosphere“ aus der Baumann-Phase von TD), wovon besonders
„Dominion“ mit seinen klar heraus gearbeiteten Melodielinien und Spannungsbögen überzeugt. Die neuen
Tracks pendeln wie gewohnt zwischen atmosphärisch-ruhig, klassisch-elegant, typisch Berliner Schule
und sogar rockig (in „Italien Scratches“ (3.Teil) ist eine untypische aber hervorragend gespielte
E-Gitarre zu hören) hin und her. Und natürlich wird auch J.S.Bach gewürdigt. Johannes Schmoelling
verbindet nach einer kurzen klassischen Einleitung den großen Komponisten mit Drumloops. Hörenswert,
wie das ganz Album.
(Bernd Sievers,
Eclipsed, Jan. 20th, 2004)
