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Dreamings by Elephant Château has infected quite a few music diggers. And Veith Stauffer already wrote in 1998 on Offshore Drilling, "One of the most underrated albums in the history of experimental rock music in Switzerland." After a 30-year delay, the productions of Elephant Château are now available again. With the title Dreamings & Offshore Drilling - Pearls And Turtles" Bureau B combine the 12" maxi released in 1985 and the CD/LP Offshore Drilling released in 1990. The recordings show the work of Elephant Château in a variety of different formations with various guest musicians, recorded between 1982 and 1989. Well-sounding film music ("Le Fin"), free jazz experiments ("J'aime Rien") and ambient electronics ("Nebellied") up to the showpiece "Wir Fangen Mit Der Arbeit Anfangen", a German monolog spoken by the American artist Marlene McCarthy, accompanied by a sensual crackling sound backdrop. Elephant Château emerged from this collaboration with Marlene McCarthy, as a loose formation for a performative publication of texts. The core consisting of Max Spielmann (guitar, keyboard), Johannes Vetsch (bass, vocals, keyboard) and until 1986, Christian Schaffner (guitar, vocals, percussion) continued working afterwards. With Franziska Strebel (drums, percussion), it became something like a band, with the claim to record credible intellectual rock music. They exploited the sound spectrum of the '80s, from analog synthesizers and rhythm machines to samplers and digital effects units without technoid coldness, but full of emotion, melancholy and unacademic joy of experimentation. Analog songs like "We Start With Work" and "J'aime Rien" stand besides rhythm and sequencer tracks like "Dreamings" or "Fog Song", which often brought the available technology to its knees. Veit Stauffer's description of Offshore Drilling's songs probably remains unsurpassed even today: "'She Had Hair' was immediately covered by Sky Bird, 'Semmelweiss' tells the tragic story of the discoverer of childbed fever 100 years ago and sounds like a This Heat outtake, 'Strange Days' turns the Doors title into a charmingly underexposed hymn, 'J'aime Rien' sounds like the meeting of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago with Catalogue and The Government. 'La Fin' on the other hand is reminiscent of the credits of a German TV crime thriller. 'Not All The Day' celebrates pure Can magic, the climax of the record with real Damo Suzuki groove and strong lyrics, 'Wir Fangen Mit Arbeit An' sets the crazy everyday lyrics of a German-speaking American to music." Features Marlene McCarthy, Franziska Strebel, Christian Schaffner, Baschi Baumgartner, Christoph Gallio, Cornelia Melian, and others.
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