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LP
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KK 102LP
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LP version. Includes download code. At the end of the '90s, there were a lot of murmurs about the living room scene in Berlin; magical concerts on improvised stages in temporary event spaces. It was a counter-reaction against the egos of rock stars. One of the protagonists of this scene was F.S. Blumm. But Blumm has shown many faces. He has collaborated with David Grubbs, Andi Otto, Harald Sack Ziegler, and Nils Frahm; He realized his love for dub reggae with the Quasi Dub Development; and he played post rock in the band KINN. Now, F.S. Blumm is entering a new phase of his creativity which one could call his nonchalant phase. Besides a few guitar chords and the suggestion of a xylophone in the background, there is nothing but the wide spaces between them. Fine, almost random sounding noises are remotely reminiscent of the era of his experimental instrumental concerts with classical guitar. Then the voice comes into play and everything changes. Laid-back, F.S. Blumm sings with a combination of urgency and relaxation. The piece are touching and intimate. This is the way "Handle Bar", the opening track on his new album Welcome, is delivered. Previously, Blumm was active as a songwriter. He wrote songs for three duos: Bobby And Blumm with Bobby Baby, Old Splendifolia with Jana Plewa, and finally Jonsson Gille & Blumm. For the first time since he started making music, he is singing his own songs himself on Welcome. And with every song on Welcome, new doors of association are opened. "New Day" uses reverb-laden drums and hymnal harmonies to great effect. But Blumm always manages to make the grandiose still sound grounded. Rather than spreading himself too thin, he prefers to explore the depths. There's the relaxed and erotically crackling "Going Away", the optimistic "Initial Spark", and the casual "Overweight". Blumm is ever traversing the field between greatness and modesty, sophisticated melodies, and recordings which are like the extremely condensed sound of a cassette recorder. This aesthetic permeates the entire album. With Welcome, F.S. Blumm has perfected the imperfect. Where other producers filter out the noise, pops, and crackles, Blumm does the exact opposite. He reverses the roles of desired and undesirable sound. What remains are songs like sculptures left in the wake of acoustic tracks.
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CD
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KK 102CD
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At the end of the '90s, there were a lot of murmurs about the living room scene in Berlin; magical concerts on improvised stages in temporary event spaces. It was a counter-reaction against the egos of rock stars. One of the protagonists of this scene was F.S. Blumm. But Blumm has shown many faces. He has collaborated with David Grubbs, Andi Otto, Harald Sack Ziegler, and Nils Frahm; He realized his love for dub reggae with the Quasi Dub Development; and he played post rock in the band KINN. Now, F.S. Blumm is entering a new phase of his creativity which one could call his nonchalant phase. Besides a few guitar chords and the suggestion of a xylophone in the background, there is nothing but the wide spaces between them. Fine, almost random sounding noises are remotely reminiscent of the era of his experimental instrumental concerts with classical guitar. Then the voice comes into play and everything changes. Laid-back, F.S. Blumm sings with a combination of urgency and relaxation. The piece are touching and intimate. This is the way "Handle Bar", the opening track on his new album Welcome, is delivered. Previously, Blumm was active as a songwriter. He wrote songs for three duos: Bobby And Blumm with Bobby Baby, Old Splendifolia with Jana Plewa, and finally Jonsson Gille & Blumm. For the first time since he started making music, he is singing his own songs himself on Welcome. And with every song on Welcome, new doors of association are opened. "New Day" uses reverb-laden drums and hymnal harmonies to great effect. But Blumm always manages to make the grandiose still sound grounded. Rather than spreading himself too thin, he prefers to explore the depths. There's the relaxed and erotically crackling "Going Away", the optimistic "Initial Spark", and the casual "Overweight". Blumm is ever traversing the field between greatness and modesty, sophisticated melodies, and recordings which are like the extremely condensed sound of a cassette recorder. This aesthetic permeates the entire album. With Welcome, F.S. Blumm has perfected the imperfect. Where other producers filter out the noise, pops, and crackles, Blumm does the exact opposite. He reverses the roles of desired and undesirable sound. What remains are songs like sculptures left in the wake of acoustic tracks.
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PING 039CD
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Frank Schültge aka F.S. Blumm has released his melodic experiments around the acoustic guitar for over 15 years. In their contemplative reduction, they miraculously always hit right in the heart. Pitchfork said: "The man makes some damn charming music." With Up, Up, and Astray, F.S. Blumm proves that he doesn't opt for routine with his eighth full-length solo release: his unfailing arsenal of acoustic instruments and choice circuits frame the most energetic Blumm sound we have lived to see so far. The album title perfectly describes its energy. F.S. Blumm returns from a six-year hiatus as a solo artist in which he has "rehearsed and learned, multiplied and lost track on purpose." Blumm is many now, and he is absolutely present to us. It all goes on, and always up, and from there into unknown dimensions. He goes astray in the word's finest meaning. And he goes up, up, not as a sweaty "HarderBetterFasterStronger," but with Blumm's steady, heartfelt pling of the acoustic guitar with his tin cookie-box, through which he, in fact, plays back his sounds, in order to re-record them, with his double bass, his keys, and kalimba. Blumm is back from the musical travels of his collaborations. He took the role of a bass player with Quasi Dub Development, a classical guitarist with Old Splendifolia, a songwriter with Bobby And Blumm, a sonic researcher with Nils Frahm and a manic, extrovert dub mash-up DJ as King Hobby. What he has experienced on these musical field trips he now returns to his solo project. Here's the best bit: Blumm sings -- through that very cookie-box -- which sounds like an exquisite vintage amp. Together with his various guest musicians (most notably Ella Blixt aka Bobby Baby on vocals), F.S. Blumm further defines his subtle and unique sonic identity between classical guitar and electronic production. "I wouldn't call my decisions in the studio canny or strategic, they are entirely led by the music. Thereby my sound remains fresh, maybe slightly naïve too, because it unfolds its own life -- ignorant of trends or markets."
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STAUB 036CD
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"On his second solo album after last year's Mondkuchen multi-instrumentalist Frank Schültge aka F.S. Blumm from Berlin presents again a multitude of lovely instrumental pop songs, with his guitar, horn and trumpet (Harald 'Sack' Ziegler), vibes (Patrick Leuschner), mbira, kalimba and toy piano being the favorite ingredients of his sound kitchen. The musical result is in a way original that the popular namedropping doesn´t help that much to describe F.S.Blumm´s music. Nevertheless bands and projects like Gastr Del Sol or others who work on the combination of improvised elements with pop-approved structures come to mind, as well as American folk pioneer John Fahey or minimal music representatives Pauline Oliveros and David Behrman for their similar sense of poise and release."
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LP
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STAUB 036LP
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