Artist: Ulrich Schnauss
& Mark Peters
Trackliste:
1. The Messiah Is Falling
2. Long Distance Call
3. Forgotten
4. Yesterday Didn't Exist
5. Rosen Im Asphalt
6. The Child Or The Pigeon
7. Ekaterina
8. Amoxicilin
9. Gift Horse's Mouth
10. Underrated Silence
Transporting the sound of shoegazer aesthetics into an electronic context – this is
how Ulrich Schnauss once described his artistic goal. Influenced by bands such
as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and Chapterhouse on the one
hand, yet wholly at ease with the electronica of bands like The Orb, Bionaut,
Orbital, 808 State and unequivocally appreciative of veterans of the genre,
Tangerine Dream or Manuel Göttsching for example. A brother in spirit of Robin
Guthrie one might say, an apposite epithet for Schnauss.
His collaborative partner Mark Peters might also be considered his soul brother.
Through his band, Engineers, he has similarly found success in following in the
footsteps of his musical paragons. Engineers have released wonderful albums of
dream pop, infused with the same spirit as the solo efforts of Schnauss. Peters
and Schnauss have been friends for many years and over a year ago, Schnauss
joined the ranks of Engineers.
For the past couple of years, they have been meeting up sporadically and making
music. The fruit of these sessions served as the basis for the ten tracks on this
joint album. More used to traditional songwriting, the working process was new to
Peters. In the absence of conventional structures, the sole aim of creating an
atmosphere, was an approach he was somewhat unfamiliar with, but one he
found liberating. Working only at night was a decisive factor for Peters, lending
the music a somnambulant quality—an effect that was intentional, striving to
create something which cannot be ascribed to a particular musical category or
zeitgeist. A challenge achieved with great success!
For Schnauss meanwhile, conjuring up an atmosphere through music is the most
normal thing in the world: he creates music for those little escapes. Headphones
on and slip away from reality. His highly praised debut album “Far Away Trains
Passing By” from the year 2001 is a masterful demonstration of his art. He has
remained true to his mode d’emploi ever since: elaborate electronic layers of
sound, elastic drum computer rhythms and drifting synthesizer textures are typical
Schnauss hallmarks. On this latest album, Schnauss brings the piano more into
play than usual, which enhances the overall impression splendidly.
“Underrated Silence” is a quiet album for the most part. Its multi-layered fabric
reveals something new every time one listens to it, a wealth of fresh discoveries,
new rhythms emerging from the sound cloud, hitherto unnoticed melodies
illuminating the background. Schnauss and Peters have crafted music which is
enchanting in the truest sense of the word, shimmering sounds, floating echoes,
rhythmically reverberant chords which wrap themselves around the listener, lifting
him into a state of suspension and carrying him gently away.
