|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
QUI 015LP
|
Turning their gaze to the buoyant culture of wyrd, modernist German folk music, Quindi welcome a spectacularly idiosyncratic offering from Johannes Schebler, aka Baldruin. Bewildering narrative twists, high drama and intricate delicacy make Mosaike der Imagination an engrossing listen from the outset, as baroque atmospheres and tumbledown drums intertwine with tactile string plucks and needlepoint synthesis in an authoritative bridging of ancient and hypermodern sonic sensibilities. Schebler's catalogue as Baldruin is extensive, reaching back to the late '00s and covering a lot of ground through cassette albums on respected underground labels like SicSic, A Giant Fern, and Lullabies For Insomniacs. Meanwhile, his work has been recognized as part of a broader movement of experimental electronic music in Germany taking inspiration from folk traditions, as documented on Gespensterland. Beyond his solo work, Schebler also works with Jani Hirvonen as Grykë Pyje (mappa), and both collaborate with Paul Wilson as Yayoba (Not Not Fun). Christian Schoppik of leading dark folk project Brannten Schnüre joins him as Freundliche Kreisel (STROOM). It's a tangled, fascinating and evocative sound world which Mosaike der Imagination offers a compelling window into. No two tracks on the album follow the same pattern or palette, whether gliding through the Giallo synth undulations and post rock tonal arcs of "Stimme des Wegelagerers" or spelling out miasmic incantations through flickering flames on "Aus dem Feuer, aus dem Licht." "Hinein, hinaus, hinüber" revolves around meditative drum mantras and cascading melodic phrasing, densely layered and evolving with purpose. "Gemeinsam hindurch" flicks between swooping strings and pizzicato plucks in a purely romantic expression of orchestration, "Mit verbundenen Augen" is a bewildering choral voice study and "Im Sternstrom" revels in ecstatic synth arpeggios. Nothing can be predicted except the vibrancy and clarity of Schebler's vision. It's a vision which extends to the front cover artwork for Mosaike der Imagination -- a glorious tapestry created by Finnish artist Jan Anderzén, with a responding design and layout from Schebler adorning the rear sleeve.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
BR 169LP
|
Relikte aus der Zukunft (Relics from the Future) is a new album by experimental German artist Baldruin. Growing up in a small Bavarian village rectory around 10 meters beside the church and serving as an altar boy; organ music, church bells, and spiritual chanting were very much present in Johannes Schebler's ears during his childhood years. This experience was probably the basis for his ongoing interest in transcendental and mysterious atmospheres, he recalls. Schebler started making music as Baldruin back in 2009 with DIY experimentations which were first released on tape, a CD-R 3" and later on several LPs all over Europe (Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Finland, Netherlands, Slovakia), as well as in the USA and Japan. While in the beginning Baldruin's tracks were mostly created with acoustic instruments, later synthesizers and other electronic sound sources joined, expanding the sound palette and letting primordial and futuristic worlds merge organically into each other. Although Relikte aus der Zukunft feels like a journey to the unknown, with constantly changing moods, all of the recordings were done in a small and improvised home studio in Schebler's living room in Wiesbaden, Germany, using mostly a single MIDI-keyboard for recording. The tracks are full of color and amazement, detailed and thorough when evoking the setting and conjuring the experience. They can be playful and bright, or suspenseful and ominous, until bursting into ritual and hallucination. The gloomiest soundscapes can jump into a ship fueled by retro sci-fi arpeggios, the solemn can turn to rejoice, and a star can shrink into a fireplace. Mastered by Alberto Cendra at Garden Lab Audio. Cover art by Johannes Schebler. Edition of 300.
|