Michael Ranta • Mike Lewis • Conny Plank ~ Mu [1970, Metaphon, 2010]

003

1. Mu I - 24:10
2. Mu II - 14:11
3. Mu III - 36:39
4. Mu IV - 24:04

Michael Ranta - percussion, guitars, thundersheet
Mike Lewis - keyboards, wind instruments, percussion
Conny Plank - live electronics, sound control, recording supervisor

'These amazing recordings from 1970 feature unbelievable material from seminal engineer and Kraftwerk producer Conny Plank alongside noted percussionists Michael Ranta and Mike Lewis. 'Mu' was recorded at Conny Plank's studio only a few months after the legendary Wired session which ended up on Deutsche Grammofon's Free Improvisation boxset in 1974. Limited only by the length of the tapes available, the trio created the four sections of 'Mu' in one night and mixed the whole album down the following morning, showcasing a masterful handling of freeform sonic abstractions and sublimely minimal psychedelic improvisations.

Their music is suspended in a timeless, spiritually resonant space, connecting threads and fragments of purely esoteric sonics into an organic matrix of otherworldly shapes and aural apparations, Plank using the studio as an instrument restricted only by the very outer bounds of possibility, imagination, and his own unquestionable talent. The results are genuinely breathtaking, delivering one of the most visceral, abstract and engrossing Krautrock experiences imaginable'

'What a stunning surprise discovery of this obscure ensemble with Michael Ranta, Mike Lewis and krautrock master Conny Plank. As on the legendary Wired LP on the Free Improvisation box set [Deutsche Grammophon, 1974] they created an amazing free form abstraction, a floating resonant and timeless music, similar in many ways to the early experiments of Tangerine Dream but in a world of its own, in all their twisted exotic and melancholy beauty... To be filed under classic krautrock, a masterpiece!' ~ Steven Stapleton

yuppers, this set is mellow & heady. perfect fer a late nite glisten. 320 shambolic trances. +

Bernd Kistenmacher - Head-Visions [1986, Musique Intemporelle, 1992]

CD 883 850-907

1. Rücksturz 24:50
2. Quitting Time 14:24
3. La Tendresse 12:57
4. Dreamdance 11:51

Composed By, Arranged By, Performer - Bernd Kistenmacher

Dreamdance was recorded 1990 in Berlin during a live performance. Frontcover by Karl-Ludwig Lange, Berlin. Sculpture created by W. Batzdorfer, Berlin. Published by P.O.E.M. Musikverlag, Berlin

hey folks, long time! owl is far away on 'business' so i kind of have carte blanche to drop whatever i feel like. sweet freedom! here goes some classic, berlin school cosmic synth that really sends me. i found it on owl's hard-drive in the new-age section, for what it's worth :-) i believe this is the re-ish of bernd's first album, ripped at a very voluminous 256 kbps

Conrad Schnitzler & Wolf Sequenza ~ Consequenz [1980, Captain Trip, 2008]

CTCD-614

01 Fata Morgana 5:13
02 Weiter 4:20
03 Tape 5 3:37
04 Bilgenratte 2:33
05 Afghanistan 5:31
06 Lügen Haben Kurze Beine 3:33
07 Nächte In Kreuzberg 3:48
08 Humpf 2:51
09 M5-477 4:39
10 Pendel 4:16
11 Wer Geht Da? 3:46
12 Copacabana 5:17

Bonus
13 Untitled 10:03
14 Untitled 8:25

Composed By - Conrad Schnitzler, Wolfgang Sequenza
Remastered By [Digital] - Souichirou Nakamura

Reissue of the 1980 private release with two bonus tracks in the 'Remastered & LP Cover Reissue Series' and the 'Early Self-Product Series'.

Recorded in 1980 except tracks 13 & 14 in 1982
Digital remastered at Peace Music Tokyo, Japan



by request & one of con's best. fun & catchy exploratory tron, 256 gleeps later. further

Asmus Tietchens ~ Aus Freude Am Elend [Dom America, 1988] 320kbps

DOM US LP 02

A1 Den Stiftsherren 4:54
A2 Negus 5:18
A3 Rosenkranz 8:31

B1 In Memoriam P.F. 1:40
B2 Niederlage 3:15
B3 Paranoide Reflexe 4:56
B4 Nachbarschaft Und Zeugung 3:14
B5 Weiter Nicht 7:00

Edition of 600 copies

Music By - Asmus Tietchens
Producer - Okko Bekker
Recorded in Audiplex Studios, Hamburg

i didn't know nuttin bout this intriguing album when i first laid eyes/ears on the thang & perhaps you shouldn't either. owl simply state that 'aus freude am elend' remains my fav from bra & the human voice is his primary sound source on this addictive slab. there's a whole intellectual process involved too, but you can read about that elsewhere. perhaps a cross-pond sonic cousin to similar strains emanating from the :zoviet*france: camp in the day. 320 gloops later

Conrad Schnitzler & Wolfgang Seidel ~ Consequenz II [Esplendor Geometrico, 1986]

EG 006

A1. Von Hand
A2. Zack Zack
A3. Fiesta
A4. Hommage A Gaudi
A5. Erotik
A6. Windmill
A7. Alhambra
A8. Espana

B1. Kastilien

Circulation 1000 copies





by request, on the brilliant discos esplendor geometrico. strictly 4 the A.D.V.E.N.T.U.R.O.U.S.

Felix Kubin ~ Jet Lag Disko 12" [A-Musik, 2000]

A1. Phonobashing
A2. Groscher Lausangriff
A3. Mondgesang

B1. Hotel Super Nova
B2. I Lost My Heart In Reykjavik
B3. Liebe Mutter



continuing in this vein, if ndw is the vater & the residents are the heiliger geist, then felix kubin is certainly the mutated wunderkind. here goes one of his most addictive ep's, sounding something like an electro version of pee wee's big adventure, 320 gloops later

VA ~ Berlin Super 80: Music Underground West Berlin 1978 - 1984 [Crippled Dick Hot Wax, 2005] 320 kbps

CDHW 065LP

A1 Mona Mur - My Lie 1982
A2 Malaria! - Thrash Me 1983
A3 Die Tödliche Doris - Tanz Im Quadrat 1981
A4 Christiane F. - Wunderbar 1982

B1 P1/E - 49 Second Romance 1980
B2 Mono/45 UPM - Romantic Adieu 1979
B3 Sprung Aus Den Wolken - Ackam La 1982
B4 Kosmonautentraum - Stolze Menschen 1981

C1 Valie Export & Monsti Wiener - Bananen 1980
C2 Alexander Von Borsig - Hiroshima 1980
C3 DIN A Testbild - No Repeat 1980
C4 Flucht Nach Vorn - Nahost 1982
C5 Frieder Butzmann - Schmusewolle 1979

D1 Sentimentale Jugend & Einstürzende Neubauten - Wollt Ihr Die Totale Befriedigung 1980
D2 Einstürzende Neubauten - Tanz Debil 1980
D3 MDK - Berlin 1982
D4 Die Unbekannten - Radio War 1981

Limited hand-numbered edition of 1000



angsty overview of angular ndw that originally accompanied this DVD, featuring several virtuosos of Berlin's early 80s underground post punk scene who rediscovered Super 8 as a viable medium fer documenting their creative endeavours... 320 fierce blips later

Quick Culture ~ S/T 12" [46 Records/Paradoxx, 1982]

PA 5000

A1. Ich Will Nicht Totgehn Heute Nacht 2:25
A2. Quick Culture 1 5:05
A3. Hühnchens 2:23

B1. Bahama-Kosaken 3:58
B2. Quick Culture 2 3:12
B3. Sister 3:50



Vocals, Vocoder, Keyboards - Detlev Kühne
Guitar - Albrecht Koch [A1, A3, B1], Detlev Kühne [A2, A3, B2], Tom Dokoupil [A2, B3]
Bass, Vocals - Rosita Blissenbach
Drums - Andreas Terhoeven [tr: A1, A3, B1]
Mixed By - Tom Dokoupil
Mixed By, Producer - Detlev Kühne
Percussion - Andreas Terhoeven [tr: A1, A2, B1]
Saxophone - Andreas Hoppmann [A1, B1] , Rosita Blissenbach [B2] , Tom Dokoupil [A1]
Sequenced By - Tom Dokoupil
Trumpet - Tom Dokoupil [tr: B1, B3]

extremely catchy & funktified mutagenic ndw featuring male/female vox chanting in other tongues whilst owl manner of skittering glitchen stink sounds emanate from the din

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth [Wonder, 2002] @320

01 Midnight Black Earth 8:45
02 Crimson Ways 6:39
03 Maximum Black 7:38
04 Vigilante Crusade 7:30
05 Destroying Angels 7:10
06 Grave Wisdom 6:32
07 Constant Fear 6:27
08 Skeletal Remains 7:58
09 The Art Of Coffins 12:04



Double Bass - Robin Rodenberg
Drums - Thorsten Benning
Saxophone, Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes] - Christoph Clöser
Mellotron, Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Engineer, Producer - Morten Gass

for my first halloween drop i bring you this stellar joint from these plodding film-noir jazz doomsters de deutschland. this one is ubiquitous on the interwebs & for good reason, but here goes my rip with some scrounged images. i first encountered them back in the 90s when they were featured on an old Plot fanzine LP compilation. since then, they have taken great strides with their sound. i happen to know a few jazz heads who read this blog & so i must insist that despite the cover artwork, this is some highly enjoyable bidness if you dig the sound of Rhodes, Twin Peaks or sinistral atmospheric jazz in general. don't know what else to compare it to really, but me lovey long time. a 320 R.I.P.

Liaisons Dangereuses [Teldec, 1981] @ 320

A1. Mystere Dans Le Brouillard 4:25 ~ Vocals: Joanna
A2. Los Ninos Del Parque 5:00
A3. Etre Assis Ou Danser 3:25
A4. Aperitif De La Mort 3:40
A5. Kess Kill Fe Show 3:28

B1. Peut Etre...Pas 6:18
B2. Avant Apres Mars 3:48
B3. I Macho Y La Nena 3:58
B4. Dupont 3:50
B5. Liaisons Dangereuses 1:41



Lyrics By, Vocals - Krishna Goineau
Music By, Electronics, Producer - Beate Bartel, Chris Haas
Photography [Cover] - Karin Luner
Technician - Mika Zähl
Vocals - Joanna

Mixed in Conny's Studio Juni 1981.
Coverfoto from the movie "Les Femmes Sans Merci"

Liaisons Dangereuses was a short-lived German group with a French name, multilingual lyrics & Japanese analogue synths. Beate Bartel [founding member of Einstürzende Neubauten] & Chrislo Haas [founding member of DAF] formed the ensemble in 1981 with vocalist Krishna Goineauhe. These kids helped pioneer industrial dance music, or electronic body music [ebm] as it came to be known, with their hyperkinetic live shows & sole eponymous album coalesced from a series of four ten-minute cassette recordings using sparse combinations of vocals, echo, reverberation, equalisation & editing effects, mixed at Conny Plank’s studio in Köln. Their repetitive avant garde sound which could easily be categorized as post punk, no wave, minimal synth or mutant funk, apparently became a major reference point for Chicago house & Detroit techno. I was pumped to come up on a really clean copy of this piece, 320 klamorous klangs later



peep the dueling Korg MS20/SQ10 action in this clip

Elektronische Musik Aus Köln ~ A Synthetic History Of E.M.A.K. 1982-88

01 Alhara
02 Filmmusik
03 Ohne Titel
04 Biela
05 Gewitterluft
06 Schlammgang
07 Bote des Herbstes
08 Nupsa Puntsch
09 Wenn Mr. Reagan es will
10 Aranea
11 Sein und Schein
12 Tanz der Vampire
13 A L'Horizon
14 Traumreise



“E.M.A.K. [Electronische Musik aus Köln] was founded in Cologne in autumn 1981. Situated in the basement of a music store called ‘Hört-Hört’ [‘Listen-Listen’] was a small 8-track studio run by Matthias Becker. It was here at the ‘Originalton West’ studio that Becker and Kurt Mill, along with Michael Filz and Klaus Stühlen, formed E.M.A.K. and here also where Becker launched the Originalton West label with the release of ‘E.M.A.K.1’ in January 1982.

E.M.A.K. originally functioned more as a collective of individuals than a traditional group. Filz and Stühlen worked on tracks individually and Mill and Becker worked on material at the studio. Kurt Mill and Mathias Becker were the producers and chose all the tracks and final mixes.

Matthias Becker:‘ I grew up to the music of Kraftwerk and Amon Düül. I remember that in 1970, when I was 15, there was a ‘Kommune’ living in the house next door and shortly after the release of ‘Kraftwerk’ for more than a week or two each day the sounds of ‘Ruckzuck’ and ‘Stratovarious’ vibrated through the walls of our living room, (very much to the irritation of my parents).

Although E.M.A.K. were not part of any larger electronic scene in their local city, Cologne was nevertheless still the base of Can, and Holger Czukay’s own studio was barely 200 metres from Originalton West. There was also nearby Johannes Fritsch’s ‘Feedback’ Studio. Fritsch was a serious composer of ‘Neue Musik’ who had collaborated with Stockhausen, who – incidentally – lived and worked in Kürten, a small village about 35 kms from Cologne'

snap up the rish

another fun one found floating around in the dark recesses of the netherwebs. pirty smooth minimal & cosmic synth type schtuff comin str8 outta Köln

Karlheinz Stockhausen ~ Opus 1970 - Stockhoven/Beethausen [Deutsche Grammophon,1969]

side 1 ~ 28:24
side 2 ~ 25:07

Created during a production between the 10th and 14th December 1969 in the Godorf/Cologne Studio

'Based formally on the composition of 'Kurzwellen': material is obtained from a regulating system [radio short waves], selected freely by the player and immediately developed. By 'developed' is meant: spread, condensed, extended, shortened, differently coloured, more or less articulated, transposed, modulated, multiplied, synchronized.

from the attached sleeve text [translated from German, i imagine]:
'This classic live electronic improvisation work [which grew out of Stockhausen's Kurzwellen] is actually a great noisy atonal tribute to Beethoven's Opus 212b. Stockhausen's Opus 1970 was composed to mark the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, but curiously suppressed in the official list of Stockhausen works.
Stockhausen serves as sound-director of Aloys Kontarsky [piano], Johannes G. Fritsch [electric viola], Harald Bojé [Elektronium early electronic keyboard instrument], and Rolf Gehlhaar [tam-tam]. The players activate tapes containing abstract fragments of Beethoven's music as they perform and improvise in response, with Stockhausen electronically processing and mixing the group's output.'

most impressive group sounds from 69. originally dropped by the noble ooliver[thanks!] of avaxhome fame in .ape format & converted to 320 mp3 utilizing this piece of freeware. highly recommended

The Black Vial ~ Frozen Morning LP [Hidden, 1995] Germany

A1 Black Crows Flying No More 6:49
A2 The Night Before Dawn 5:28
A3 Instrumental February 1:54
A4 Every Time You Tried To Read A Book 3:09
A5 You're Running Too Fast For Me (New Mix) 5:49

B1 Song Of Praise For A Swamp Room 4:26
B2 Someone's Dying: 19.4 (To You) 5:09
B3 Frozen Morning 6:49
B4 Harp A 1:06
B5 When The Autumn Leaves Begin To Fall 5:25



okeh now this one is near & dear to my broken heart. introducing Liebfried Loch, an elder statesman from Hannover, Germany. Frozen Morning is his first album of jangly languid death folk & features guest spots from Juergen Gleue of 39 Clocks playin guitar & blues harp, respectively. once upon a thyme there lived an intriguing review of this ramshackle slab somewheres on the interwebs, testifyin about how these haunted proceedings are shrouded in the same sorta hazy narcotique fog that inhabits the Velvets 'Sunday Morning' & Barrett's 'Golden Hair', but it seems to have gone the way of the dodo. too bad, i woulda blatantly swiped it for this write-up, but now i can only pathetically paraphrase ;p 80's period Jandek would be an accurate point of reference as well. anyhu, at least now you might hear the musique as this was a limited run of 500 copies, uniquely covered with blaque electrical tape. the mysteriously monikered Sabine Faust plays organ on a few cuts & likewise shot those innearesting photos of our hero on the cover. incidentally, if you have access to his first ep on swamp room records, we would love to hear the thang. further

Vance Orchestra ~ Hot Water Music [Drone 26] Germany

a. rollercoaster mind
b. hot water music



one of the many transportational drone records singles, this round from a pair of sound sculptors who're definitely up there with maeror tri in terms of their ability to create new space within whatever space they're being played, like the space between your ears