Keller & Schonwalder & Broekhuis Musique des Machines (Download CDR) 2 tracks / 70.04 mins Play Sample:   56K Dialup   Broadband Download Sample:   500K   1.5Mb (Excerpt from track(s) 'Musique des Machines 2') Please go to the Store to buy this item.

Note: This is a Download CDR album i.e. you can either purchase it as a CDR from here, or you can purchase it for less as a download directly from the MusicZeit download platform.

The last album I reviewed by these three was only last month 'Live @ Dorfkirche Repelen' and two different sets of music you couldn't have. That album was stunningly beautiful full of subtlety and excellent melody. For the most part this is about metronomic sequencer / rhythm lead carnage. Faintly melodic bright touches of sound provide quite a tranquil start to 'Musique des Maschines 1'. It only takes a minute and a half however for a rapid staccato sequence to emerge. More, almost manic, runs of notes move up and down the sonic spectrum adding another exciting element to the already heady brew. It all goes together to form a sort of swirling psychedelic frenzy. By the seventh minute a rumbling bass line, additional sonic pulses, more roller coaster sequences and generally an even faster pace have lead to wonderful exciting overload. Just before we descend to complete chaos however things are reined back a little so that mellotron sounds can be given their full effect through the ever-present beats and pulsations. Proceedings become increasingly hypnotic, additional rhythmic detail coming and going around the constant backing. A little softness is brought into play with three minutes to go as tranquil pads float from the speakers breaking us out of our trance but rhythm is never far away as additional shuffling syncopations are deployed keeping the excitement high right until the end. The best is saved to last however.

The gargantuan forty-three minute 'Musique des Maschines 2' growls into life, a sequence being present right from the off. Initially things are all rather brooding. A second rapid sequence really picks up the pace then a third more melodic one falls into formation and yet we are less than ninety seconds in! Bas comes up with some excellent, rather Schulzian drum flourishes. A bass rhythm enters then some rather breezy lead detail, like the sound of the wind from our Ferrari whooshing past slower vehicles as we race down the Autobahn. Additional little note runs come and go all the time, morphing this way and that. A repeated melody is deployed in the tenth minute which also heralds an exquisite rhythm change. More exciting grooves enter two minutes later and my feet are now moving to the music like crazy and my head shaking in heavy metal style! Melodies are present but they are like will-o'-the- wisps in the middle of the mix. By the sixteenth minute lead detail is again riding high in the mix, bouncing over the rest of this wonderful hyperdriven brew. There is now so much movement, lovely little sounds and effects being introduced then retired in quick succession. I have said on a number of occasions that if something is worth doing it is worth doing to excess- and boy have they done it to wonderful excess here! An essential purchase for any Keller & Schonwalder (and not forgetting the amazing Bas Broekhuis) fan. Though you will probably need a good lie down after to recover! (DL)

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