Artist: Konrad Kucz
P: 2008
The optimistic opening of the album reminds me somehow of Kraftwerk's "Trans Europa Express" introduction - perhaps it is just a suggestion awoken by the title "Railroad Paths". Soon there comes the leading voice, weaving its layers upon the electronic meanders of the introduction theme - the mood changes into rainy sadness. The music becomes very suggestive here: the Listener observes, what happens on the screen of his train window, now there are familiar objects there, painted with the rising voice of the leading sequencer, then there are shapes turning to abstract stains, marked with some loose pulsations in the sixth minute of the track.
Along with the second part of the suite, we experience a slight increase of speed, the weather outside is getting worse, it still grows darker, and in the end of this marvellous composition we find ourselves in a crossroad soundscape covered with grey dust of the lamentation of "Mellotron choirs", which make as great an impression as an instrumental ambient track "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats" by Genesis. The Listener expects some change, although she is not sure, what comes next - there it is, a ferreous ostinato of the third piece, intermingling with a sort of an electronic coloratura, bringing a very nice yet nostalgic motif. Not even four minutes have elapsed, and we can hear the percussion line and some advanced key changes. Apart from that, we now have a new companion in our journey, a nice vocoder part.
"Path 4" is the longest composition of the set, and somehow the plot point of Kucz's concept album.
The "Path 3"-sequence comes back with its mature structures, but this time we will reach the tune coming from some other direction and by slightly different weather.
The final path is no doubt in close relationship with its Berlin predecessors, it appeals with dreamy soundscapes reminding of the foggy "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" by Tangerine Dream. At the end, there appears a filtered sound of train wheels rolling, which makes us go into trance.
The last two minutes of "Path 5" bring sunlight and optimism at long last.
The "bonus track" embodied by "Robotic Missions" would be an ideal A-side to the single promoting "Railroad Paths". It is a short, dynamic piece of music, filled up with percussive sweeps and grooves, vocoder vocal line, stereophonic tricks throughout the metallic sequences. Last but not least, what we can hear here is a hit-like melody sounding as if it was dedicated especially to devoted Kraftwerk fans!
"Railroad Paths" is a fantastic album, the other face of Konrad Kucz after the quiet and meditative "Vita Contemplativa Litania".
Weight:
0,105
kg per
piece