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LP
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HTLP 009BOX
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"The announcement of the relaunch of the German label Hit Thing (marketed by Grand Chess) comes with some anticipation regarding some of the rare titles they released from 2000-2007. At the starting gate is Morphosa Harmonia, the duet album between Thomas Wydler, longtime drummer-alumni of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Die Haut, and Toby Dammit, also known as Larry Mullins, who has since joined the Bad Seeds as well. Morphosa Harmonia has a two-sided structure in almost every aspect of the project. Wydler and Toby combined their tastes, talents and humor on these 11 sketches. In 2002 Dammit arrived in Berlin somewhat empty handed and dazed at what to contribute, as Wydler had already designed much of the drumming and percussion landscapes. With considerable thought a radical chance had to be taken. Armed with a rare Buchla synthesizer, a vocal microphone and tape echo, Dammit asked Wydler to give him a chance to explore some strange ideas. Recording engineer Ingo Krauss kept the creative waters flowing without question and what resulted surprised them all. Large phonetic vocal choirs were built, sometimes beautiful, mysterious or a horrific nightmare. Each piece gained unique characters and themes. Thus a strange and visual musical world slowly appeared before them; the cinema of Morphosa Harmonia. Later that week Wydler and Dammit attended a dinner at the home of German artist Martin Eder. As they explained their strange new project, Eder expressed interest in contributing the artwork. At that time Eder had completed a parallel series of beautiful watercolor portraits of both cats and women. Combining both side by side displayed varieties of a possible morphosis from feline to feminine, (or vice versa) and a mysterious yet complimentary layer came to their musical characters. It appeared to complete the cinematic world they had designed; thus a true harmonic morphosis exposed, balanced in music and painting, the strange characters of Morphosa Harmonia."
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CD
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HIT 009CD
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"There's much ballyhoo about the new music of Berlin, but this album will actually leave listeners surprised. Thomas Wydler (drummer of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and formerly of Die Haut) and Toby Dammit (drummer of Bertrand Burgalat, Iggy Pop and Swans - naming a few) have created an album certainly like no other today. Morphosa Harmonia stretches many boundaries far from what anyone could expect from a couple of drummers. Thomas and Toby leave all typical cliché approaches to composition behind here. Of course the combustion of these two world-class percussionists results in some super cool acoustic and electronic percussion arrangements. But Mr. Wydler's explorations into synthesizer design and Mr. Dammit's vocal debut as a demented children's choir cannot be explained easily. There are remarkable guest appearances as well, including Jochen Arbeit (Einstürzende Neubauten), Beate Bartel (Liaisons Dangereuses), Christoph Hahn (Angels Of Light) and Martin Peter (Die Haut). A notable tradition in the floating mood of this record evokes the Cluster & Eno albums recorded by Conny Plank in the 1970's. In fact, Ingo Krauss, long-time engineer from Plank's legendary Köln studio, mixed Morphosa Harmonia. The songs drift by like little dreams with some genuinely frightening nightmares. Throughout, there is a stylistic blend of Pan-Pacific environmental influences mixed with Morriconesque melancholia. If this isn't enough stimulation, the entire Morphosa Harmonia package is crafted by Berliner art star Martin Eder. The Digipak contains eighteen watercolors by Eder, enhancing a deeply psychedelic tone. Eder's combination of bizarre feline portraits and female nudes mirror the dreamy dangers in the music. This harmonious marriage between contemporary art and audio recording confirm that Hit Thing is on to something far beyond the realms of your iPod."
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