RARITIES

Artist: Klaus Netzle, Power-Pack
P: 1987
2 LPs on one CD.
Good synthesizer tunes, with a lot of melodies. Played in the typical 80s synthesizer sound.

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Artist: Programa
P:1999
Nice electronic melodies with a touch of Peter Mergener and John Kerr.

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Artists: Projekt Gamma
P: 1998/ 2012
This is a collection of all leftover tracks the two musicians played between 1991 and 1998.
Versatile tiles with a lot of sequences and melodies.

Artists: Projekt Gamma
P: 1998
LTD 100
This is a collection of all leftover tracks the two musicians played between 1991 and 1998.
Versatile tiles with a lot of sequences and melodies.

Here the last copy of the numbered first edition!

Artist: Protogonos
P: 1999    
DIN 3
LTD 1000 Copies
This is the first release from this duo of space pilots based in Halifax, UK. If 16th Century renaissance man Francis Bacon was alive today, this is what he'd be playing. An alchemical blend of amorphous and swirling textures, this is music from the sound houses where the maps don't go.

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Artists: Pyramid Peak
P: 2007
Tangerine Dream around the Exit era, can be heard here in the Pyramid Peak way.
Thats the main style of this CD.
The opener ‘Gravity’ simply has to be a homage to ‘Exit’ period TD. The sound palette and compositional style are spot on for that era. Indeed the whole track is just perfect. Notes are struck and left to fade into the distance. A slow beautiful flutey melody drifts through the ether. A sequence starts up. Another melodic sequence bubbles to the surface taking us back to those heady days when our heroes still had something exciting to say. This second sequence gains in power all the time whilst a stonking lead line hits all those musical pleasure receptors (ooh err missus!). We even get some recited foreign text as in ‘Kiew Mission’ (I think!). It all works so well. A wonderful way to start the album.
The title track, at almost half an hour, is a real epic. Tranquil pads waft from the speakers then a casual Eastern sounding lead line can just be heard. Enter a tabla type rhythmic sequence and it’s instant ‘Hyperborea’! Another sequence falls into formation. The backing swells and things become increasingly syncopated. This is rapidly turning into another cracker, but they are not finished yet as another sequence bursts forth and the excitement level goes up yet another couple of notches. There is a definite moodiness to the lead lines; a sort of edgy melancholy which when contrasted with all the powerful pulsations makes things even more effective. We get an explosion through which the pulsations surge, like fighter aircraft through a ball of flame. Some more sampled speech gives a sinister twist. A bass beat strikes up and in its wake the sequences morph to give a more optimistic feel, enhanced by some lovely soft pads. In the seventeenth minute the sequences start to subside, we get some manic laughing then distorted echoing utterances. The mood changes once again as a tinkling sequence emerges from watery effects like air bubbles rising from a diver far below. There is a delicate beauty to it all. Backing drones create a contrasting melancholia. A more percussive sequence enhances an already excellent passage of music still further. A slow thoughtful lead glides above the pulsations taking us to the end of another excellent track with many a twist and turn along the way.
'History’ explodes onto the scene with vast reverberating fizzing stabs of sound. Sampled text calls out to a crowd on more than one occasion, relieving important events from the past. The tension builds and builds embellished by Jarre type electronic whooshes. The pace quickens as an insistent rhythm drives things forward along with a lovely thick bass line. A little melodic motif skips over the top. This is excellent body moving stuff. A sharper lead line cuts through the air. Ethereal pads and a more delicate sequence bring some contrast nearer the end but overall this is a non-compromising track full of power and attitude.
With a track called 'Sequenced’ there are certain expectations but it isn’t until the third minute that the expected rapid note runs burst through. They are well worth waiting for however as my hands are soon beating out time on the table, being taken along by the mounting excitement. Things become increasingly syncopated until just before the half way mark where the energy level subsides a little only to make things seem even more ball breaking when the vast wall of notes reappear.
'Drive 2007’ appropriately starts with a drone that seems to go deeper and deeper until it is replaced by ominous dark pads. You can almost feel the vast weight of water above you. A tinkling loop shines through the blackness like a laser, bass pulses getting the heart to race. Thick mournful pads make a fleeting appearance then wallop, sequences and rhythms start to surge forward faster than I could take them in. An almost anthemic lead completes the picture. Wordless female vocal colouring momentarily adds a little softness before we surge forwards once more.

What an awesome way to finish what is I reckon the best Pyramid Peak album yet.

DL

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Artist: Radio Massacre International
P: 2004
Recorded in Sept. 2003 at the famous Dutch E-Live Festival this is immaculately recorded and falls into the category of the classic RMI sound oozing layers of synths melody and dense spatial energy. A trip into the Nebula Galaxy by way of a time warp thru’ a black hole. Totally different material than the previous set.

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Artist: Radio Massacre International
P: 1995
Of the trio of bands primarily responsible for the resurgence of interest in 70's EM, RMI are probably the closest to emulating the Rubycon/Ricochet/Encore sound. Not that they are trying any more or less than the others, it's just a statement which leaves you in no doubt of the style of music contained on this CD. Take the 20 minute opener for example, Wrecks. Six minutes of skilful atmospherics give way to the sequencer run which is supplemented by well judged electric guitar at eleven minutes. The palette of sounds are totally authentic for this type of music, and it all works magnificently. Echoing samples of dogs barking bring the track to a weird close. The sequencers waste no time on What's the Point of Going to Crete? Opening in slightly detuned fashion they soon develop into a pulsing wall of sound which is supplemented perfectly by mellotron choirs. There's even a few chord changes with the "lead" following in sympathy. Who says there's no melody....!? Small Frozen North opens in brooding fashion before once again brilliant sequencers take centre stage, while Rosemary's Baby is a more ambient cut with syncopating piano and heavy effects. Extra length affords Drown an extended opening and this is used well with some classic sound collages and unmistakable flute courtesy of the Mellotron. After five minutes the sequences appear and deliver some startling tapestries of rhythm with all manner of noises layered on top. The sequence run fades at the half way mark to leave glorious effects and mellotron to "do their thing", before returning resplendent with psychedelic guitar riffs. Frozen North Part 1 gets underway with five minutes of scene setting before slowly undulating chords raise anticipation. Tremendous sequences follow, embellished by synths and effects to perfection. Industrial collages take over during the latter stages bringing the piece to a provocative and uncompromising close. Finally, the colossal Part 4 takes the stage, and colossal is the only way to describe it. The opening 20 minutes are pure ambient genius, and the section which follows is a lesson in how to combine the mellotron with pulsing sequences. This track is a forty minute epic which anyone in tune with this style of music will find irresistible. When listening to RMI's music, comparisons with mid to late 70's Tangerine Dream are unavoidable. Let's be clear though. This album is not merely a recreation of TD at their peak, it's more a testament to RMI's ability to capture the spirit and excitement of that era and inject it into their own work. The result is a masterpiece which no Electronic Music enthusiast should be without.

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Artist: Radio Massacre International
P: 2003
Our November 2002 trip to the USA was a first for the band, and could not go undocumented. We saw the trip as an opportunity to make as much new music as possible, and based our live sets and radio appearances largely around total improvisation. This double set is divided into 'West' and 'East' discs documenting appearances on both coasts. Our set in Claremont, Ca. was recorded on multi-track and the rest of the sessions on the RMI 'mini-mini-mobile'. There are two half hour radio sessions, extracts from our 'Progwest' appearance with drums, while the bulk of Disc Two consists of electronics only pieces from our two sets at St Mary's Church, Philadelphia. With the exception of a live version of the first piece on our debut album, all of the music is new, created in the moment and unrepeatable. The fact that it was recorded in the special circumstances of an American tour that many bands never get to make, is the icing on the cake.

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Artist: Radio Massacre International
P: 2004
We were invited to participate in an arts festival just outside Helsinki in January 2004, and had a thoroughly good experience altogether making many new friends. The set was an hour long and featured the more traditional RMI line up of electronics and guitar only. The set is included in its entirety along with a bonus piece from our preparation sessions the day before our departure for the frozen north.

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Artist: Rainbow Serpent
P: 1997
The eagerly awaited third album by Rainbow Serpent is here! The first two albums were stylistically very different from each other but both just screamed class. With 'Mosaique' we have yet another approach but again the quality in composition, production, in fact everything is of the highest order possible. We kick off with 'Silence', damned silly name for a piece of music but I see what they are getting at as it brings to mind a subterranean futuristic city late at night, just you on your own - or are you? By the atmosphere that is being created I doubt it! This flows into 'From Within', a more accurately titled piece where the slow chord progressions, beautiful piano melody and symphonic effects really do pull at the heart strings - a truly beautiful piece. At the half way mark a gentle rhythm is introduced which becomes more dominant as the track progresses, only subsiding when we enter 'Prhythm' and its opening other worldly strangeness takes me back to the atmosphere created in the first track. After a while a melody is introduced and close on its heals we get a beat which develops nicely until the title track takes over making use of all manner of sampled acoustic sounds and pure synth, we even get a deep bass rhythm low in the mix. All in all a very intriguing piece that has an enormous amount happening in its five minutes duration. Next up we have 'Trancelation'. This is the first sequential track on the album, becoming more rhythmic and hypnotic by the minute, even a bit Schulzian at times. 'In High Spirit' is a smashing little piece which really takes me back to the days of 'Magic Fly', very infectious rhythmically, an ideal driving track. 'Virtual Emotion' is the longest track on the album and is another sequential / rhythmic outing, great with the lights out, let your mind roam to the outer limits. 'The Universal Play' is very melodic and over all too soon. The last track 'Mental Mosaique', even though it does contain some gentle laid back rhythm is really a winding down sort of piece and finishes the album off well.

Here the last copy, with the original small mosaique stones inside the tray!
 

Artist: Rainbow Serpent, Fanger & Schönwälder
P: 2009
LTD: 500
The Ricochet Gathering Live Konzert 2007 with 3 long tracks.

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Artist: Ralf Nowy
P: 1997
Played live at the Schwingungen election 1997 in Duisburg.

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Artist: Ralph Lundsten
P: 1988
This is a collection of his best tracks from 1971 - 1987. Melodic sometimes melancholic listening pearls.

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Artist: Ralph Lundsten
P: 1988
This is a collection of his early 60s electronic tracks.

Here the last copy!