Frank Klare
Analogic

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(Excerpt from track(s) 'Ikarus')

CDR / 6 tracks / 73.39 mins

Swirling electronic effects and soft pads certainly give the opener 'Analogic One' a suitably analogue sound. Or I at least hope that is what the Anal in the title is referring to! It's all relaxing and drifty but with dark undercurrents. In the seventh minute things become more intense as a deep throb can just be heard. There is a rather Schulzian 'Irrlicht' / 'Cyborg' quality to it. 'Ikarus' continues with lovely thick lush soundscapes but this time there is a lighter more shimmering quality to proceedings. A nice deep bass sequence starts up low in the mix and as it rises to the surface slowly begins to morph. Another tinkling sequence is brought into play and again it is Klaus that comes to mind but this time from the 'Timewind' era. The sequences continue to slowly but wonderfully build. There is so much going on but subtlety is the order of the day. This is Frank at his very, very best. 'Analogic 2' still has a rather shimmering quality to it but this time it has a much brighter and ethereal feel. A slow sequence starts up in the fourth minute but it is a delicate one that does nothing to disturb the peaceful mood so carefully created and indeed soon dies away again. We now start to get wave after wave tinkling shimmers which lead us to a rather dense section of melodic undulating pads. It is another track that refuses to stay still as we go from one subtle section to the next.

'Crazy Dance', at under four minutes long, is by far the shortest track on the album and has a suitably oddball rhythm but it is hardly dancey, just being a sort of mid paced quirky number. 'Analogic Three' on the other hand lasts almost twenty-one minutes. It starts incredibly quietly, building very slowly. Indeed, unless your volume had been turned up quite loud you probably wouldn't have heard much until we get a cosmic blast effect at the almost one minute mark. A minute later a sequence starts to form, then a subtle rhythm, then another sequence, etc etc, as we continue the slow build. Gradually the drums become more prominent. At the seven-minute mark a mournful melody gently floats over the top. Again, this is all very Schulzian. Things get so hypnotic that it almost becomes hallucinatory! Of course some people would just say it is boring- depends on your point of view. I would go for the former. 'Go Ahead' gets straight into a bell type sequence and becomes increasingly syncopated as laser sharp lead lines fly over the top. In no time at all things are blasting along at quite a pace, the drumming becoming increasingly manic. Fantastic stuff! One of my favourite albums from Frank. (DL)

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