Ramp

Artist: Stephen Parsick
P: 2023
LTD 111
"arp-en-ciel" is probably the most up-to-date album i have released in a long while.
admittedly, some bits had already been recorded between january 2018 and july 2020 but the majority of music came into being in early 2022, just before klaus schulze's passing. obviously, my music had strongly been influenced by schulze's work -- however, i didn't want to jump the bandwagon and use schulze's passing as a vehicle to promote my own work. hence, i decided to postpone its release and, instead, published "happy days" first.  When recording the tracks for "ultima ratio", i thought to myself that it would be great to return to the simplicity of my earliest music, making use of very simple chordal progressions (not that i know any more complicated ones anyway), lots of improvised soloing, very much in the vein of those who inspired me in the late summer of 1988. the album title just came to mind as a pun on the french "arc-en-ciel" as i used mainly arp synthesisers for the first half of the album. quite witty, huh?
the second half of the album is made up of some recordings that date back to april 2000 when cosmic hoffmann and i had spent a lovely morning, walking through a misty forest (we were quite foggy as well but that would be a different story altogether). a subsequent recording session at klaus' own quasar studio quite nicely absorbed the atmosphere of that morning but, for some reason, the music had remained unused until i re-discovered it by accident. i took some bits from this session and turned them into some rather ambient affair which i think klaus might have liked, too.

or most probably not, who knows. 
all music composed, arranged, performed, engineered, mastered to basf sm 911, and produced by stephen parsick.
prepared for digital download by stephen parsick at dachgeschoss borgholzhausen in april 2023.
stephen parsick: analogue synthesisers, keyboards, and sequencers; mellotron; tapes, loops, and treatments; ambient field recordings
cosmic hoffmann: glissandoz guitars on "chunky cookies part one"
oh, by the way, there is no mini moog on this album.

Artist: Stephen Parsick
P: 2022
LTD 111
It's been a little while since i released the last ['ramp] album, and frankly i wouldn't have thought any new recording would ever see the light of day. hard to imagine that this world was a slightly different one when "no sleep 'til wilmersdorf" was released four years ago, and no one would seriously have guessed our world would take such a massive nosedive, right?

it is not only the dire prospects of future we are facing -- in some way or other, i also had to deal with the passing of one of the most crucial figures in my personal and musical evolution, cosmic hoffmann. in fact, it took me almost three years to come to grips with the fact klaus isn't around any longer. much of this cathartic mourning process is to be found on "happy days", and sometimes it even feels as if klaus was intervening from beyond (or elsewhere).

come to think of it, i am even happier i managed to finalise a string of recordings made between the summer of 2017 and april 2022 -- and arrange them in a more or less meaningful way as an album of entirely new (and at the same time very old) music. in some regard it might be seen as a continuation of what was already present on "wilmersdorf". on the other hand, though, the music presented here took on a life of its own thanks to the recent events, and i must admit that i haven't made anything *that* doombient since my own "hoellenengel" album from 2004/05 (even though "happy days" is nowhere near as bleak, but that's only me, of course). honestly, i wasn't all too keen on taking that dark turn again, and i was perfectly happy to have left the gloomy reaches of electronic music behind a bit.

well, it wasn't meant to be for long, was it?

Artist:  Ramp + Markus Reuter
P: 2007
This time it´s not a recording of the duo Parsick / Makowski but a collaborative effort which was recorded together with experimental guitar player Markus Reuter. Markus gained a lot of reputation by not only collaborating with Ian Boddy on several joint albums but also by being member of CentroZoon, Europa String Choir, Tuner, and of various other groups which venture deep into the realm of progressive music. Markus helped [´ramp] greatly to push the envelope and create the most progressive and least "retro" album of [´ramp] thus far. "ceasing to exist" is an entirely ambient affair which was based around touch guitar improvisations Markus submitted to [´ramp] for further treatments. The material recorded during one long session was then processed and produced further separately by Stephen Parsick, Markus Reuter, and Frank Makowski, resulting in a final batch of dronescapes that was grouped and arranged by Markus Reuter. Unfortunately, the first-generation master was technically flawed and had to be redone completely. Hence it took so long until the group came up with the final result. Most listeners may feel a little cautious about buying an ambient album from [´ramp] because, alas, a lot of ambient music is very one-dimensional and – put frankly – reduced to boring "fridge drones" only. The group tried to come up with enough interesting timbres, textures, structures, and elements to keep the listener riveted over the full length of the album. Markus´ beautiful contribution of divine frequencies adds a lot of spice to [´ramp]´s deeply ambient sound currents. The gorgeous cover painting was created by Bernhard Woestheinrich, Markus´ creative partner in CentroZoon.
 

Artist:  Ramp
P: 2012
LTD 300
There are eight tracks on the album, and if you liked the previous albums 
"return" or "steel and steam" (the latter featuring Mark Shreeve of Redshift), 
I am confident you will most certainly enjoy this one as well.
 The CD comes with an eight-page booklet with a couple of pictures assembled 
from studio  and live work.

Artist:  Ramp
P: 2009
Interestingly, most discs like to grab your attention early, but Stephen Parsick (now the only force behind Ramp) starts with the gloomy, dark shifting textures of “Rail.” Really, though, it serves as a lengthy intro to the main course, the nearly 14 fantastic minutes that are “Skeletal.” Fans of Redshift and Node absolutely must hear this stunning track. It is at turns edgy, moody, dramatic, and aggressive - an instant classic.
The disc has great flow, going from active numbers like this one to the dark formless bridging piece “Girders” before rich, thick bass and gritty synths kick back in on “Wreckage.” After virtually abandoning sequencing for his foray into purely doombient releases, Parsick rediscovers the technique with a vengeance here, continuing seamlessly into “Pieces” and the title track. The album is divided into four parts of three tracks each. The third three-part epic reaches its peak on “Hamburgised”, another powerfully restless sequencer fest with rumbling pulsating bass. The fourth and final section is every bit as good as the rest.
Debris is hands down the best, most potent electronic music album of 2009.
 

Artist:  Ramp
P: 2006
The Doombient-release "Looking Back in Anger" is 78-minute retrospective compilation by the duo Stephen Parsick and Frank Makowski.
It provides an overview of nine rare or elsewhere unreleased tracks spanning the first decade of [´ramp]´s work, which saw them collaborate with e.g. Stefan Kraft, Martina Beine, Jens Peschke, Lambert Ringlage and Marcus Reuter.
“The Warsaw Disaster” is typical of their early period, a classic Teutonic offering, particularly the latter half which sounds awfully similar to Tangerine Dream’s “Logos” from 1982.
“Sakrileg Am Mitta (High Noon Edit)” is another early recording, but one which hints at the dark road [‘ramp] was later to take, with eerie vocal samples and dark choirs, very Schulze like once it gets going.
“Generatorenkonflikt” features guest musician Stefan Kraft on rhythm programming and processing, giving it a much harder, synthetic feel than usual [‘ramp] outings.
The tribal-tinged “Tinbejagd” has its moments, showing a unique take on the [‘ramp] sound, although Martina Beine’s vocals alternate between enhancing and detracting.
The metallic sequencing of “What is the Point of Eating Concrete?” reaming a winner in this updated version, courtesy of some reworking in the studio by Stephen.
The title track is the band’s 1999 finale at the 6th Alfa Centauri Festival. A long slow build up of energy is unleashed at the end, wherein the synths do seem almost angry at being played so intensely.
Next is an outtake from the [‘ramp] collaboration with Markus Reuter called Ceasing To Exist.
“Scissors (Short and Painful Edit).” [‘Ramp] is at their best when they combine their Berlin school and dark ambient leanings into one package, as they did throughout their fantastic Oughtibridge release. This is a great track up there with the best that Node and Redshift have done ­ and of course [‘ramp]. The last bit is a brief oddity that emphasizes the disjointed nature of this collection.

Artist: Ramp
P:  2018
LTD 222
To celebrate his 35 years of music, Stephen Parsick plays a lot of vintage sounds on his favourite instrumens like, Arp, Moog, Mellotron, EMS, Elka Rhapsody 610 Strings, Oberheim and Rhodes Piano.

Artist:  Ramp
P: 2011
Ltd 300
"return" is the eighth album by ['ramp], and as its title suggests, it is a return to where ['ramp] originated from in 1996 – and even more so.
it has become the most "analogue" album since the first two releases "nodular" and "frozen radios" from 1998 and 2000 respectively. being rooted in the berlin school of thought, ['ramp] quickly started adding other ingredients to their blend of electronic music styles: being sequencer-driven and psychedelic-sounding on the one hand, ['ramp] founder stephen parsick was also keen on incorporating a grittier and more abrasive "industrial" sound into the band´s scope. "there is nothing more satisfying than making a synthesiser sound dangerous", parsick points out.
"return" was performed nearly exclusively on analogue keyboards and synthesisers from parsick´s collection, using various analogue effects devices, to achieve a compelling result: the sonic universe of early tangerine dream meets the thundering sequencer assaults of british modular heroes node and redshift.
all music on the album was recorded without midi and computer sequencing, assisted by parsick´s trusty old friend heath robinson. all tracks were recorded live onto an old-fashioned digital multitrack recorder, mixed on an analogue desk, and mastered in the analogue domain by berlin-based studio owner matthias fuchs who had already made "debris" and "steel and steam" sound great.
"return" will be available in a limited edition of 300 hand-numbered copies

Artist:  Ramp
P: 2017
LTD 222
This Album was created entirely without Midi.
Played on vintage analogue systems. Very good fat sequencer runnings.

Artist: Vidna Obamana, Steve Roach,
Thom Brennan
P: 2001
The sleevenotes read like a veritable "who's who" of current synth artists: Paul Ellis, Nemesis, Free System Projekt, Robert Carty, Rudy Adrian, Kubusschnitt, Dave Fulton, Synthetic Block, Paul Nagle, Arcane, John Christian (from AirSculpture) and Ramp. This project was borne from the internet chat group "beyond_em", a thriving source of news, information and general gossip which has hundreds of subscribers, including the artists here and many more. As Paul Ellis, the co-ordinator and "guy to blame", as he describes himself, says on the sleeve ".....I was surprised by the number of other musos on the list and the high quality of their work. I threw out an idea where one musician would pick up the musical thread of the previous musician and make an album that way......"
'Beyond Me' is the result, a virtual embarrassment of riches. There is so much tempting music on this album you really won't know where to start. The majority of tracks are new, only the Arcane piece has appeared previously on the 'Alterstill' CDR, and Paul Nagle's track has appeared in remixed form on 'Blue Book'. Just before I dive into the tracks, one mention for the sleeve graphics especially the inside cover featuring cartoon cameos of all the artists - it's very cleverly done.
Fittingly Paul Ellis gets the show on the road with a fantastic piece called 'Into the Liquid Unknown' (8.19). It features magnificent sequence contortions which are sometimes left to twist and mutate in isolation, at other times accompanied by perfectly judged silken pads. Next up is 'Nemesis' with 'Siloportem'(7.25). A punchy beat underpins expert sequencing and some classic mellotron sounds. Again it's a top notch synth outing, and blends perfectly with the former piece, and the next track for that matter - 'Pharos' (5.27) from 'Free System Projekt. This really does bring to mind mid 70's EM with mellotron timbres painting a patchwork of sound which could be straight from 'Phaedra'. Half way through the piece those trademark FSP pulsations start up and we are on another roller coaster of rampant moog style sequences and epic synth textures.
Robert Carty contributes 'Outside Influences' (5.10) which opens with strange alien utterings before a slow but mammoth beat appears around which all manner or electronic detail is layered. It sounds slightly tribal, Aztec culture comes to mind, such as the more atmospheric work of Richard Burmer. Next it's Rudy Adrian with 'Secrets in Sahara Sands' (6.42) which carries on the atmosphere and style perfectly, yet stamps a very different interpretation with a choppy sequence and ethereal synth layers. Kubusschnitt's 'Vantage Trick' (6.18) will surprise (and disappoint) no-one, being a classic slab of retro sequencing with electric guitar angst pitched perfectly in the mix. Dave Fulton's 'Falling Away' (5.32) takes the baton, a strangely beguiling collection of electronic throbs and drones while 'Flash of Attention' (1.45) by Synthetic Block is a brief but perfectly formed cameo which features syncopating oscillations.
Paul Nagle's 'Adventure' (8.37) opens with a marvellous arpeggiating sequence and an infectious melody. John Hickey contributes foreboding words before "the cave closes" to allow Arcane's 'Alterstill part 3' (6.00) to be unleashed. If by some twist of fate you haven't got this track, the situation needs to be rectified immediately. First aired at Jodrell Bank, this is possibly the only track which has ever left myself and Dave Law speechless at the same time.'Heathkit Interociter' (4.12) by John Christian is a fascinating and quite unique sequence based track - wonderfully inventive in construction, very melodic and hugely entertaining. Finally Ramp serve up 'Rapture of the Deep' (6.21) and this has to be heard to be believed - atmospherics from the Gods.What an album! No matter what your taste in EM this has it all, in one cohesive high quality package. Buy without hesitation. (GG)

Artist: Various Artists
P: 1998
LTD 500
This compilation GoldTri: what mean as "Golden Triangle" was released as limited edition 500pcs. on March 21, 1998, for the Alfa-Centauri festival in Huizen (The Netherlands)
and for that time all tracks was previously unreleased.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Various Artists
P: 1998
LTD 500
This compilation GoldTri: what mean as "Golden Triangle" was released as limited edition 500pcs. on Oct. 17th, 1998, for the Alfa-Centauri festival in Huizen (The Netherlands)
and for that time all tracks was previously unreleased.

Here the last copy!

Artist: Various Artists
P: 2006
A double album of mainly Berlin School tracks. With some different and interesting tracks too.

Artist: Schönwälder, Fanger, Keller,
Quaeschning,Ramp... 
P: 2012
LTD
This is a compilation of unreleased tracks from all the artists of the Manikin Label.