Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
4/10/2009
Format:
CD (Album)
It’s so good to know that there are still some German artists out there that create excellent music in the style of the 70s electronic greats like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra, and others. Level Pi, the creation of Cologne multi-instrumentalist Uwe Cremer, is one such artist. I was very impressed with his first CD Entrance on the Garden of Delights label and I would have to say that he has simply outdone himself with the second. I’m thinking the title of the disc Electronic Sheep is a silly take on his name, this is a seriously great spacey album.
While the album Entrance contained shorter pieces, the music stretches out much further here. Starting off with the 15-minute “String Theory”, we’re treated to a prime electronic workout reminiscent of Klaus Schulze’s best works. The track is full of spacey, droney synths until the sequencer comes in about halfway through. You could play this to a hardcore Schulze fan and they would not know it wasn’t him. The second piece “S.E.T.I.” is obviously much more spacey, starting out with a simple drum machine and synth pattern. At a few points in the track you can hear what sounds like an orchestra playing in the background. Maybe they have found the aliens and they like classical music. The track also features some strange narration about an invasion.
“Elfenstaub” starts out with some noisy sounds that almost give the feeling of a storm in space. The tune slowly morphs into a nice bouncy track that reminds me of Vangelis or early 80s Tangerine Dream. There are swirling synths and incidental noise that really enhance this one. Things start to get a little bizarre on “Dishwater”. This is a somewhat experimental piece that has a lot of noisier elements. I think this one could be my favorite on the album; it’s unlike any of the other Level Pi tracks. When the guitar comes in, it takes on a post rock feel.
At only six minutes, “Traumphase” is the shortest piece on the disc. This is a nice mellow track with a simple beat and some beautiful melodies. The CD ends with a nice longer piece called “Theta Null” and again Uwe’s love for artists like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze is quite evident.
While this might not be the most original electronic music out there, I definitely found this to be more than enjoyable. I would most certainly recommend this to anyone into the cosmic sounds of the German electronic scene of yesterday. Don’t be fooled by the silly cover, this is one seriously great recording.
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