Peter Baumann:
Machines of Desire:
Bureau B:
LP/CD:
May 20th 2016:
Much of German imprint Bureau B's recent Krautrock releases have focussed on the likes of Cluster and various Sky Records luminaries. For 2016, they turn their attentions to Tangerine Dream and its co-founder, Peter Baumann.
Machines of Desire isn't your typical Bureau B release however - rather than retread old paths (and there's nothing wrong in that), Machines of Desire provides something of a link between '70s-era Germanic electronica and post-punk electro-rock. Lazy name-checking recalls Gary Numan, John Foxx, Kreidler, Front 242, Startled Insects and Pyrolator, yet Baumann also remain something of a unique enigma.
Comprising eight mainly instrumental tracks, Machines of Desire belies its somewhat cheesy Kraftwerkian nombre by sounding rather sombre and foreboding in places - there are no catchy pop nuances here. Essentially, MoD is unequivocally austere electronica searching for a purpose - Searching in Vain is a sinister symphonic piece that perturbs as much as it delights while Crossing the Abyss has an element of In The Nursery about it, a militaristic strident uneasiness contained within its marching beats and eerie synth stabs.
After a while, one cannot help but surmise that much of Baumann's rich gothic grandeur might be best suited to TV documentaries about fallen Rome or slayed Viking warriors, rather than a seemingly random CD release. But it's nonetheless enthralling stuff for the most part - Baumann's orderly electronics keep things tidy yet chaotically modernist throughout.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Machines of Desire:
Bureau B:
LP/CD:
May 20th 2016:
Machines of Desire isn't your typical Bureau B release however - rather than retread old paths (and there's nothing wrong in that), Machines of Desire provides something of a link between '70s-era Germanic electronica and post-punk electro-rock. Lazy name-checking recalls Gary Numan, John Foxx, Kreidler, Front 242, Startled Insects and Pyrolator, yet Baumann also remain something of a unique enigma.
Comprising eight mainly instrumental tracks, Machines of Desire belies its somewhat cheesy Kraftwerkian nombre by sounding rather sombre and foreboding in places - there are no catchy pop nuances here. Essentially, MoD is unequivocally austere electronica searching for a purpose - Searching in Vain is a sinister symphonic piece that perturbs as much as it delights while Crossing the Abyss has an element of In The Nursery about it, a militaristic strident uneasiness contained within its marching beats and eerie synth stabs.
After a while, one cannot help but surmise that much of Baumann's rich gothic grandeur might be best suited to TV documentaries about fallen Rome or slayed Viking warriors, rather than a seemingly random CD release. But it's nonetheless enthralling stuff for the most part - Baumann's orderly electronics keep things tidy yet chaotically modernist throughout.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆