|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
AMEL 729CD
|
Sun Electric, the Berlin-based electronic music duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer, were among the pioneers of "live" electronica presentation in the early 1990s, when options for realtime reproduction of one's sound were a fraction of what we enjoy today. Perhaps a spiritual successor to earlier forms of "kosmische" music, which saw the exploration of outer and inner space as being equally worthwhile undertakings, Sun Electric's music was expansive, epic, and involving in a way that prioritized the communion between sounds and listeners over the public exposition of the musicians' personalities. Space was, of course, utilized as an instrument unto itself: a fact that is evident in this new release of a notable 1996 set in which Sun Electric performed at the neo-Gothic Votivkirche in Vienna. Over 75 minutes of performance time, the duo took full advantage of the 20-second reverb decay time offered by the space. The real star here remains the way in which the interdependent musical objects move through open space and mutually evolve with it, and the percussive impacts are part of a "sonic democracy," standing on an equal footing with the glistening effects and the lapping waves of sequenced melody. It's the consistent application of these strengths which allows the music of Sun Electric not to be a "nostalgic trip" to a simpler time, but very much a part of the musical dialogue of the present.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
12"
|
|
STRIKE 085EP
|
This release takes a tour through electronic music history covering electronica, ambient, house and techno. Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel aka Sun Electric were part of the initial revolution of electronic music and defined what we call ambient or electronic music today. This year Shitkatapult released Lost And Found (1998-2000), with previously unreleased tracks from the last great period of Sun Electric. "Toninas" is remixed by Ricardo Villalobos and the duo of Thomas Fehlmann & Daniel Meteo.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
STRIKE 086CD
|
Lost + Found (1998-2000) is the never-released follow-up album to 1998's Via Nostra by Berlin's Sun Electric (Max Loderbauer, Tom Thiel). Who is Sun Electric? Sun Electric is to ambient music what The Sex Pistols was to punk music. But since electronic music abandoned the pathetic poses of rock music, nobody had to die to make this unique band history. The Sun Electric members are regarded as innovators of ambient music -- or electronic listening music or intelligent dance music -- depending on what you prefer. After electronic music exploded in the late '80s/early '90s, the music seemed more or less to be restricted to forming the heartbeat of homogeneous party crowds. Like The Orb's Alex Paterson, Loderbauer and Thiel allowed the sounds to detach themselves from the action on the dancefloor to lead a life of their own. After having released six albums on the R&S/Apollo label, Loderbauer and Thiel lost interest in their hardware equipment and explored computer-based modes of music production. Lost + Found is more than an archaeological find, it's the rediscovery of electronic music as an alien experience, as a sonic challenge. Thiel and Loderbauer avoid the pathetic narcissism of overproduction: the plague in current electronic music production. Lost + Found was recorded in the three successive years after Sun Electric's final album was released in 1998. Listening to Lost + Found, one might feel like visiting a jungle: the music creates a complex soundscape, reminding of the noises of weather conditions and the sounds of a multitude of unknown animals. While current electronic music triggers the movements of the dancer's bodies like an aerobics class, the effects of Sun Electric's music on mind and body are complex and open.
|