Perfectly Deep Weekly #58:
Materielle, Purl & Daniel[i], Tangerine Dream

Purl & Daniel[i] - Tesseract (2022)
Pyramid Blood

Tags: #deeptechno #darkambient
 

Behind 'Tesseract' stands the duo of two producers who each are stalwarts in their own right. 

One is Purl, also known as Ludvig Cimbrelius, whose music I've reviewed here in the past (newsletter #17,) and the other is Daniel[I], who is featured here for the first time. I will therefore expand mainly on the background of the latter.

Belgian DJ and producer Daniel Danieli, aka. Daniel[i], resides in Aachen. His unique dubby, rich, and emotive sound is, according to his press material, derived from the natural environment, which also serves as an inspiration for his music (similarly to Cimbrelius' approach to making music.) After releasing music on several labels over the years, he developed his most current musical idea on his own platform, Whispering Signals, where he can explore and welcome like-minded musicians.

For Daniel, blending the analog and digital worlds is essential. His sound library is sampled repeatedly until the patterns are distinct enough to be used as a flow or groove. Ableton is used as a trusted partner to express and change spontaneous feelings and jams that were formed on analog gear or digital software rather than following a predetermined template or idea. He is furthermore a resident of the clubs Brandwerk and NoName.

The album starts out with 'Tesseract I,' a somewhat fast-paced track dominated by layering synth pads (vocal samples?) soaked in reverb (reminding of the artist Bvdub) and a subtle kick drum. It is followed up by 'Tesseract II,' which continues the feel of the opener but is instead driven by more classic dub techno components like dubby synth chords, swerving LFO, and, again, lots of delay.

'Tesseract III' continues the dub influences but is even more subdued and ambient in its feel. There is still a kickdrum in the back, so technically, it is more techno than ambient if judging by conventional measures.

My favorite track is probably 'Tesseract V,' which is centered around what sounds like a noisy drum or percussion sample that is tweaked through various filters and, like the rest of the album, bathed in delay.

'Tesseract VI' stands out on the album. Gone are the pounding kick drums and techno aesthetics, and instead, we find a solid ambient track with a minor key piano motif expressing a simple melancholic tune on top of noise samples and synth pads. The album could have ended here, as the track has the vibe of an album closer. But it doesn't: 'Tesseract VII' takes us further into a drone landscape that is like a hypnotic extension of the ambient track that came before.

Instead, the album ends on a surprising note. 'Tesseract VIII' is a high-paced fast techno track with a shuffly beat that sends us off at a breath-taking pace. Typically such a tempo is not my cup of tea, but I like the unconventional ending to the album, which fits it surprisingly well.

The album comes out on a label called Pyramid Blood, a Canadian cassette tape label for ambient and drone music, which I did not know before. Offering little information, I took a nose dive into the back catalog and found many other goodies, including from Kenji Kihara and Anthéne. A highly recommended excursion if you dig this album.

Tangerine Dream - Raum (2022)
Eastgate Music / Kscope

Tags: #experimentalelectronica #ambient

"Don't call it a comeback, but this LP—carrying the spirit of Edgar Froese's musical genius—is the best Tangerine Dream record in decades," Resident Advisor wrote about this album by the legendary electronic music group, who, like fellow mastodon Kraftwerk, started out in the 1960s and have made an enormous impact on music history.

Edgar Froese, as referenced above, established the German group in 1967. Froese was the sole permanent member of the group up to his passing in January 2015, even though there have been several personnel changes over the years. The triad of Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann (from the middle of the 1970s) is the most well-known configuration of the band. Johannes Schmoelling took over for Baumann in 1979. Thorsten Quaeschning, Froese's designated successor and the current longest-serving band member (joining in 2005), has been in charge of the group since Froese's passing in 2015.

In the field of electronic music, Tangerine Dream is regarded as a pioneer. Their collaboration with the electronic music 'Ohr' label resulted in records that were essential to the growth of the Kosmische Musik movement in Germany ("cosmic music"). Due to their affiliation with Virgin Records, their "Virgin Years" were characterized by the release of albums that further explored synthesizers and sequencers, including the UK top 20 albums Phaedra (1974) and Rubycon (1975). The trio also enjoyed success as cinema soundtrack composers, penning more than 60 tunes.

On this new album, which came out in the spring of this year, their sound is as fresh as ever. It starts with 'Continuum,' a deep, melodic tune spiced with percussive beats and an arpeggiator theme that swirls elegantly up and down to form a compelling melody and a melancholic mood.

Next comes 'Portico,' a beatless track that builds great momentum and intensity across almost 7 minutes, followed by 'In 256 Zeichen' (In 256 Characters), which is a more kraut-inspired ambient track spanning a whopping 19 minutes. Like the previous track, it builds towards a natural crescendo around the 15-minute mark.

'What You Should Know About Endings' is my favorite: A dark, bass-heavy track featuring experimental, shuffly drums and basslines and many layers of synth pads. 

The closer, title track 'Raum,' is a cinematic opus that pays dues to the group's impressive track record as scorers of films. I could see it match flicks like 'Drive,' or, of course, various classic sci-fi blockbusters like Bladerunner.

All in all, it is impressive to hear how Tangerine Dream has managed to wrap its signature grandiose, almost symphonic, synthesizer themes into a modern expression that is both deep and intense at the same time. Their power lies very much in their ability, even beyond Froese's death, to connect quiet, ambient segments with build-ups and high-energy bursts that release tremendous energy. All of which, in my opinion, falls inside the 'deep' bracket.

It comes out of Tangerine Dream's own label, Eastgate Music & Arts, but under license to the London-based label Kscope, a "home for the growing post-progressive genre and an evolving, flexible and adventurous style of music without boundaries." A super productive outlet sporting over 1,000 releases, the label is also home to other well-established acts like Marillion, and Porcupine Tree, - as well as Steven Wilson (lead singer of the latter), to name a few.
 

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