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Conrad Schnitzler, "Conal 2001"
Having recently attended an electronic music concert which left me rather
cold, I approached this album with some trepidation. Conrad Schnitzler is of
course an electronic music pioneer who was responsible for the founding of
both Tangerine Dream and Kluster. I adore the brilliant work such groups did
in the 70's and occasionally beyond, but it seems that electronic music in
the 90's and beyond has lost its wonder, the elements of danger and
exploration now replaced with gimmickry and formula. However, I'm happy to
say, Conal 2001 does not succumb to these vices - and gives me hope
for electronic music in the 21st century.
The album consists of three 20-minute pieces (each named after their
duration) which all have a raw, intense (even chaotic at times), and yet
paradoxically slow-motion quality to them. Against backdrops of ghostly (and
adjective used too freely for this kind of music but really applicable here),
vague musical and noisy impression, rhythms appear and disappear as quickly
as a shooting star, and synthesizer riffs straight out of classic prog-rock
appear and disappear equally suddenly. Sometimes rhythm takes over (the end
of "20:33"), but mostly it just struggles against the vastness that seems to
inhabit each piece.
All in all, a surprisingly virile album from an old master. Recommended.
~ Adam Murphree
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