BUREAU B - Forced Exposure

$17.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 2/15/2019

Günter Schickert's debut Samtvogel (1975) was one of the most significant guitar albums of the krautrock era. Points of comparison from today's perspective are Syd Barrett or Pink Floyd's more adventurous early recordings. Schickert's follow-up, Überfällig (1980) was released on the legendary Sky label. Once again a milestone recording, it showcased Schickert's hypnotic echo guitar which developed into one of the hallmarks of the krautrock sound. Schickert's new album Nachtfalter, translating as "moth" in English, carries on from these beginnings, making it hard to believe that he has in the meantime reached pension age. Recorded during the scorching hot summer of 2018, Nachtfalter shows the pioneer of the echo guitar sounding his very best. Here Schickert was assisted by Andreas Spechtl, who recorded the album and played the drums. Spechtl selected the best moments of Schickert's guitar tracks, and mixed them while also supplying his own loops. Even though the album was conceived as an instrumental, it inadvertently developed into a concept piece, named after the moth, which had entered the room at some point during the recording sessions. As a silent witness, it clung to the ceiling all night. In the morning, Schickert found the insect dead on the floor. He took a photo of the moth for the cover, paying tribute to the dead animal. Nachtfalter opens with the atmospheric track "Nocturnus", Schickert's conch shell horns creating an eerie mood. Next, the krautrock juggernaut "Ceiling" runs to nearly seven minutes of playing time; it's not just the music levitating here. A further highlight is the urgent "Wohin" with its insistent, furious drumming by Spechtl, whose patterns meet the howling echo guitar by Schickert. The impressive "Reflections" concludes the album by uniting all the elements of Nachtfalter's hypnotic soundscapes. The music could serve as soundtrack to a horror movie, with guitar sounds being complemented by noise resembling a train whistle, plus the squealing and humming of a tormented analog synthesizer. "I was born in Berlin and am a true city child", explains Schickert, "When I was young, I often travelled on the bus or the underground train. The awesome rhythm of the engines has indelibly imprinted itself on me. My music has been the expression of this experience." Listening to Nachtfalter, one can only conclude that on Schickert has created a perfect synthesis of the hectic, motorik rhythm of the big city and the gentle beat of the wings of a moth.

$22.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 2/15/2019

LP version. Günter Schickert's debut Samtvogel (1975) was one of the most significant guitar albums of the krautrock era. Points of comparison from today's perspective are Syd Barrett or Pink Floyd's more adventurous early recordings. Schickert's follow-up, Überfällig (1980) was released on the legendary Sky label. Once again a milestone recording, it showcased Schickert's hypnotic echo guitar which developed into one of the hallmarks of the krautrock sound. Schickert's new album Nachtfalter, translating as "moth" in English, carries on from these beginnings, making it hard to believe that he has in the meantime reached pension age. Recorded during the scorching hot summer of 2018, Nachtfalter shows the pioneer of the echo guitar sounding his very best. Here Schickert was assisted by Andreas Spechtl, who recorded the album and played the drums. Spechtl selected the best moments of Schickert's guitar tracks, and mixed them while also supplying his own loops. Even though the album was conceived as an instrumental, it inadvertently developed into a concept piece, named after the moth, which had entered the room at some point during the recording sessions. As a silent witness, it clung to the ceiling all night. In the morning, Schickert found the insect dead on the floor. He took a photo of the moth for the cover, paying tribute to the dead animal. Nachtfalter opens with the atmospheric track "Nocturnus", Schickert's conch shell horns creating an eerie mood. Next, the krautrock juggernaut "Ceiling" runs to nearly seven minutes of playing time; it's not just the music levitating here. A further highlight is the urgent "Wohin" with its insistent, furious drumming by Spechtl, whose patterns meet the howling echo guitar by Schickert. The impressive "Reflections" concludes the album by uniting all the elements of Nachtfalter's hypnotic soundscapes. The music could serve as soundtrack to a horror movie, with guitar sounds being complemented by noise resembling a train whistle, plus the squealing and humming of a tormented analog synthesizer. "I was born in Berlin and am a true city child", explains Schickert, "When I was young, I often travelled on the bus or the underground train. The awesome rhythm of the engines has indelibly imprinted itself on me. My music has been the expression of this experience." Listening to Nachtfalter, one can only conclude that on Schickert has created a perfect synthesis of the hectic, motorik rhythm of the big city and the gentle beat of the wings of a moth.

$17.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 1/18/2019

Bureau B issues Solarize's compilation Nachtwerk (1991-1998). Since 1981 Wilfried Franzen and Thomas Grötz have been developing their own version of experimental pop music, which oscillates between song structures, noise, and psychedelic trance. Bass and keyboards form the instrumental substructure of the duo's compositions, which are enriched with guitars, violin, piano, electronic percussions, and samples. After self-publishing various cassettes and cds, Nachtwerk (1991-1998) is their first official release, presenting selected pieces from the years 1991 to 1998. The two school friends started their musical collaboration in Papenburg in northwestern Germany. A self-empowerment related to punk and post-punk served as a catalyst and encouraged them to develop their own musical cosmos. "We did not seek for a solid stylistic concept. Occasionally we used various genres and musical trends as inspiration. The typical result was not easily identifiable as new wave, trance, intelligent dance music, Krautrock, and so on." A special approach to music, characterized by a non-musical perspective i.e. the visual arts, has played an important role. This is almost inevitably a result of their subsidiary activities, working and articulating as visual artists and art historians. Their creations made of sound emerged during their multi-day retreats were almost never played again afterwards. "Everything that we got our hands on served as an instrument, no matter whether we were able to play it or not, as long as it matched our musical visions. The outcome was documented with simple tape recorders and later with four-track devices." In this way, Solarize produced more than 250 songs and instrumentals over a period of almost 20 years. Nachtwerk (1991-1998) brings together everything that makes up the unspecified stylistic, yet consistent approach of Solarize: bright and sunny melodies, creaky violin and e-bow trips, seriously fiddled compositions, polyrhythmic dense ambient landscapes, teaspoon-samples with interview sections, and dramatic piano excursions.

$22.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 1/18/2019

LP version. Bureau B issues Solarize's compilation Nachtwerk (1991-1998). Since 1981 Wilfried Franzen and Thomas Grötz have been developing their own version of experimental pop music, which oscillates between song structures, noise, and psychedelic trance. Bass and keyboards form the instrumental substructure of the duo's compositions, which are enriched with guitars, violin, piano, electronic percussions, and samples. After self-publishing various cassettes and cds, Nachtwerk (1991-1998) is their first official release, presenting selected pieces from the years 1991 to 1998. The two school friends started their musical collaboration in Papenburg in northwestern Germany. A self-empowerment related to punk and post-punk served as a catalyst and encouraged them to develop their own musical cosmos. "We did not seek for a solid stylistic concept. Occasionally we used various genres and musical trends as inspiration. The typical result was not easily identifiable as new wave, trance, intelligent dance music, Krautrock, and so on." A special approach to music, characterized by a non-musical perspective i.e. the visual arts, has played an important role. This is almost inevitably a result of their subsidiary activities, working and articulating as visual artists and art historians. Their creations made of sound emerged during their multi-day retreats were almost never played again afterwards. "Everything that we got our hands on served as an instrument, no matter whether we were able to play it or not, as long as it matched our musical visions. The outcome was documented with simple tape recorders and later with four-track devices." In this way, Solarize produced more than 250 songs and instrumentals over a period of almost 20 years. Nachtwerk (1991-1998) brings together everything that makes up the unspecified stylistic, yet consistent approach of Solarize: bright and sunny melodies, creaky violin and e-bow trips, seriously fiddled compositions, polyrhythmic dense ambient landscapes, teaspoon-samples with interview sections, and dramatic piano excursions.

$17.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/14/2018

Bureau B presents a reissue of Carl Matthews' Call For World Saviours, originally issued in 1984. Mesmerizing DIY electronic music from Cumbria, UK, influenced by the Berlin School but even more by Tim Blake, Call For World Saviours was originally released 1984 on cassette only; this is this music's first time on CD and vinyl.
"Carl Matthews is by no means immune to the maelstrom of geocaching notebooks. Krautrock (tick), guerrilla DIY cassette-era artist (tick), under-rated UK electronic composer (tick). Man with a beard, surrounded by synths. Tick. Best of all, he was once described as the Edgar Froese of Cumbria. The Tangerine Dream legend needs no introduction, but the Cumbrian question deserves further scrutiny. In spite of the irresistible urge felt by many to claim Matthews for the Berlin School, this is unquestionably an artist who wrote music far from the madding krautrock crowd. Instead, he worked in isolation, splendid or otherwise. The question remains, is there a suspension bridge which connects Carl Matthews to the mainland European tradition of Harmonia, Cluster, and Tangerine Dream? 'I was at a crossroads in my life aged 28, early influences were krautrock: NEU!, Kraftwerk, Cosmic Jokers, etc. One day, I was listening to Tim Blake, and my inner voice said ''I can do that!'', Carl recalls. Whilst his music clearly bears the hallmarks of superb craftsmanship -- his mesmerizing soundscapes more than a match for any of his contemporaries -- Carl Matthews was, and still is, a truly independent artist, from the means of production to the published recordings. If it is possible to identify a scene along the lines described above, Matthews was not part of it. 'I was totally alone in doing this; no one was interested in my musical taste at that time. As far as I know the electronic/new wave music scene in Carlisle was virtually zero.' Happily for fans of his music, recent years have seen a resurgence in activity. Unwaveringly self-effacing, Carl Matthews continues to make music which is liberated from the constraints of ego, allowing one to wander the magnetic fields of his imagination. Today, in his own words, he is 'an old guy who likes making sounds for library/production companies', which says it all, really. The signs are all there in Call For World Saviours, music which is both timeless and very much of its time, a disappearing act on the part of its creator whose character nevertheless resonates in every note." --Harry Calvino.

$22.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/14/2018

LP version. Bureau B presents a reissue of Carl Matthews' Call For World Saviours, originally issued in 1984. Mesmerizing DIY electronic music from Cumbria, UK, influenced by the Berlin School but even more by Tim Blake, Call For World Saviours was originally released 1984 on cassette only; this is this music's first time on CD and vinyl.
"Carl Matthews is by no means immune to the maelstrom of geocaching notebooks. Krautrock (tick), guerrilla DIY cassette-era artist (tick), under-rated UK electronic composer (tick). Man with a beard, surrounded by synths. Tick. Best of all, he was once described as the Edgar Froese of Cumbria. The Tangerine Dream legend needs no introduction, but the Cumbrian question deserves further scrutiny. In spite of the irresistible urge felt by many to claim Matthews for the Berlin School, this is unquestionably an artist who wrote music far from the madding krautrock crowd. Instead, he worked in isolation, splendid or otherwise. The question remains, is there a suspension bridge which connects Carl Matthews to the mainland European tradition of Harmonia, Cluster, and Tangerine Dream? 'I was at a crossroads in my life aged 28, early influences were krautrock: NEU!, Kraftwerk, Cosmic Jokers, etc. One day, I was listening to Tim Blake, and my inner voice said ''I can do that!'', Carl recalls. Whilst his music clearly bears the hallmarks of superb craftsmanship -- his mesmerizing soundscapes more than a match for any of his contemporaries -- Carl Matthews was, and still is, a truly independent artist, from the means of production to the published recordings. If it is possible to identify a scene along the lines described above, Matthews was not part of it. 'I was totally alone in doing this; no one was interested in my musical taste at that time. As far as I know the electronic/new wave music scene in Carlisle was virtually zero.' Happily for fans of his music, recent years have seen a resurgence in activity. Unwaveringly self-effacing, Carl Matthews continues to make music which is liberated from the constraints of ego, allowing one to wander the magnetic fields of his imagination. Today, in his own words, he is 'an old guy who likes making sounds for library/production companies', which says it all, really. The signs are all there in Call For World Saviours, music which is both timeless and very much of its time, a disappearing act on the part of its creator whose character nevertheless resonates in every note." --Harry Calvino.

$22.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Bureau B presents a reissue of Richard Pinhas's Chronolyse, originally released in 1978. Pinhas is one of the most important French electronic space-rock musicians. Following five albums with Heldon, his band, he released solo records from 1977 on. His transition to solo material gave the guitarist and synthesist an opportunity to work on material that was a little lighter and less constrained. Chronolyse was his second solo album. Following the previous year's Rhizosphere (BB 279CD/LP, 2018), 1978's Chronolyse was actually the first to be completed having been recorded two years prior. On four of its five tracks, Rhizosphere presents just the 25-year-old Pinhas and his synth alone together, a melding of man and machine that gradually becomes an expansive, outward-bound journey. Pinhas's simple approach spawned a galaxy of diverse sounds and ideas. Each track on Rhizosphere inhabits its own mini-universe sonically and emotionally. The range of moods traversed is stunning. Dedicated "to all S.F. freaks", Chronolyse takes its name from a work by the science fiction writer Michel Jeury. The individual track titles, as any sci-fi fan will clock, are inspired by the classic Frank Herbert novel Dune (1965). This led some listeners to assume that Chronolyse was some kind of scrupulous concept album based around Herbert's invented universe of interstellar feudal houses and giant sandworms. That's not quite accurate. While Pinhas remains a proud sci-fi freak, he's quick to distance the album's titles from the music contained therein. "I always name the titles of the tracks and albums when everything is finished," he says. "So there is no relationship between them and what is inside." The younger Pinhas had been inspired by guitar heroes such as Hendrix and Clapton. It was King Crimson's Robert Fripp who had prime impact on Heldon's mix of spiralling space-rock guitar and analog electronics. Indeed, Pinhas once said the three most important figures in the history of modern music were Richard Wagner, Béla Bartók, and Robert Fripp. At the time of Chronolyse's gestation, Pinhas had been listening to a lot of classical music. Bach, Scarlatti, and Wagner were key. So, too were the new wave of American minimalist composers, Philip Glass in particular. The final record of Heldon's 1974 to 1979 run of LPs would appear the year after Chronolyse; thereafter Pinhas would concentrate on projects under his own name. This vital release bridges the gap between these two phases of Pinhas' remarkable career.

$22.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Bureau B presents a reissue of Richard Pinhas's East West, originally issued in 1980. The fourth solo album by French spacerock mastermind Pinhas, East West was his first and only album to be released by a major label (CBS). Some say it is his most commercial but Pinhas doesn't see it that way. "Signing to CBS was a blessing. It gave me the tools for better production. At that time, some big companies were better and more honest than the so-called underground labels. Besides, I don't see any virtue in remaining underground. You try to do what's best for the music at each moment in your life. Always." reflects Pinhas. Even so, East West contained some surprises for those who were used to Heldon's extended jams or the sparse and moody atmosphere of Iceland (1979). East West's average track length is four minutes, indicating greater accessibility. It also has a David Bowie cover, although Pinhas naturally chose one of his more avant-garde moments, the foreboding "Sense Of Doubt" from Heroes. (1977). Despite having "gone solo", Pinhas remained a serial collaborator. The intense and frantic opener, "Houston 69: The Crash Landing (Part 1)", features his old Heldon colleagues Didier Batard, François Auger, and Patrick Gauthier. The robotic vocals were supplied by writer Norman Spinrad from whose novel, The Iron Dream (1972), Heldon had lifted their name. East West's synth-centric tracks resemble siblings to the groundbreaking work of Kraftwerk. Others, like the dreamy "XXXXX: La Ville Sans Nom" or longest track, "Paris: Beautiful May", showed Pinhas hadn't lost enthusiasm for fusing the revolutionary sound of the synthesizer with his impressive talents as a meditative and expressive guitarist. Certain songs evoke Brian Eno or Tangerine Dream but hold their own distinct flavor, anticipating much later ambient practitioners such as Mountains or Emeralds. Besides the relatively succinct running times, it's "New York: West Side" that takes most responsibility for East West having been categorized as Pinhas' "most commercial" work, another view which its maker defies. "I don't know why people say it's the most structured or commercial," he reflects. "I wanted to do this album in the way I did it. In terms of commerciality, I don't work with those kinds of concepts." East West hardly represents Pinhas' shift from abstract composer to pop artist but offers a sublime showcase for the diversity of Pinhas' powers, all delivered in handy bite-sized chunks.

$17.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/7/2018

Bureau B presents a reissue of Richard Pinhas's Chronolyse, originally released in 1978. Pinhas is one of the most important French electronic space-rock musicians. Following five albums with Heldon, his band, he released solo records from 1977 on. His transition to solo material gave the guitarist and synthesist an opportunity to work on material that was a little lighter and less constrained. Chronolyse was his second solo album. Following the previous year's Rhizosphere (BB 279CD/LP, 2018), 1978's Chronolyse was actually the first to be completed having been recorded two years prior. On four of its five tracks, Rhizosphere presents just the 25-year-old Pinhas and his synth alone together, a melding of man and machine that gradually becomes an expansive, outward-bound journey. Pinhas's simple approach spawned a galaxy of diverse sounds and ideas. Each track on Rhizosphere inhabits its own mini-universe sonically and emotionally. The range of moods traversed is stunning. Dedicated "to all S.F. freaks", Chronolyse takes its name from a work by the science fiction writer Michel Jeury. The individual track titles, as any sci-fi fan will clock, are inspired by the classic Frank Herbert novel Dune (1965). This led some listeners to assume that Chronolyse was some kind of scrupulous concept album based around Herbert's invented universe of interstellar feudal houses and giant sandworms. That's not quite accurate. While Pinhas remains a proud sci-fi freak, he's quick to distance the album's titles from the music contained therein. "I always name the titles of the tracks and albums when everything is finished," he says. "So there is no relationship between them and what is inside." The younger Pinhas had been inspired by guitar heroes such as Hendrix and Clapton. It was King Crimson's Robert Fripp who had prime impact on Heldon's mix of spiralling space-rock guitar and analog electronics. Indeed, Pinhas once said the three most important figures in the history of modern music were Richard Wagner, Béla Bartók, and Robert Fripp. At the time of Chronolyse's gestation, Pinhas had been listening to a lot of classical music. Bach, Scarlatti, and Wagner were key. So, too were the new wave of American minimalist composers, Philip Glass in particular. The final record of Heldon's 1974 to 1979 run of LPs would appear the year after Chronolyse; thereafter Pinhas would concentrate on projects under his own name. This vital release bridges the gap between these two phases of Pinhas' remarkable career.

$17.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/7/2018

Bureau B presents a reissue of Richard Pinhas's East West, originally issued in 1980. The fourth solo album by French spacerock mastermind Pinhas, East West was his first and only album to be released by a major label (CBS). Some say it is his most commercial but Pinhas doesn't see it that way. "Signing to CBS was a blessing. It gave me the tools for better production. At that time, some big companies were better and more honest than the so-called underground labels. Besides, I don't see any virtue in remaining underground. You try to do what's best for the music at each moment in your life. Always." reflects Pinhas. Even so, East West contained some surprises for those who were used to Heldon's extended jams or the sparse and moody atmosphere of Iceland (1979). East West's average track length is four minutes, indicating greater accessibility. It also has a David Bowie cover, although Pinhas naturally chose one of his more avant-garde moments, the foreboding "Sense Of Doubt" from Heroes. (1977). Despite having "gone solo", Pinhas remained a serial collaborator. The intense and frantic opener, "Houston 69: The Crash Landing (Part 1)", features his old Heldon colleagues Didier Batard, François Auger, and Patrick Gauthier. The robotic vocals were supplied by writer Norman Spinrad from whose novel, The Iron Dream (1972), Heldon had lifted their name. East West's synth-centric tracks resemble siblings to the groundbreaking work of Kraftwerk. Others, like the dreamy "XXXXX: La Ville Sans Nom" or longest track, "Paris: Beautiful May", showed Pinhas hadn't lost enthusiasm for fusing the revolutionary sound of the synthesizer with his impressive talents as a meditative and expressive guitarist. Certain songs evoke Brian Eno or Tangerine Dream but hold their own distinct flavor, anticipating much later ambient practitioners such as Mountains or Emeralds. Besides the relatively succinct running times, it's "New York: West Side" that takes most responsibility for East West having been categorized as Pinhas' "most commercial" work, another view which its maker defies. "I don't know why people say it's the most structured or commercial," he reflects. "I wanted to do this album in the way I did it. In terms of commerciality, I don't work with those kinds of concepts." East West hardly represents Pinhas' shift from abstract composer to pop artist but offers a sublime showcase for the diversity of Pinhas' powers, all delivered in handy bite-sized chunks.

$17.00 IN STOCK

"Started as the so-called 'Krautrock Guerrilla' in 2012, six years later the Berlin combo Camera are releasing their fourth full-length album, Emotional Detox. Customarily associated with the likes of NEU! and La Düsseldorf it is time to allow Camera to break free of the krautrock tradition. For fans of nominative determinism, there can be few more apposite appelations than Michael Drummer. He is the catalyst, linking everything together as he crosses the soundscape of everything captured on Camera. The band's moniker Camera, meanwhile, is an altogether more capricious calling card. Emotional Detox is the fourth full-length album by Camera, now a quintet, following two albums as a trio and one as a duo. The line-up here comprises Steffen Kahles, Drummer, Michel Collet, Andreas Miranda and Timm Brockmann, all based in Berlin. Drummer is the only constant through all four phases. Brockmann, who left the group in 2014, returns to the fold. He and Franz Bargmann, who left Camera the year before him, released the duo album Licht (BB 269 CD/LP), a celebration of keys, guitars and effects which, at times, emulated the ferocious potential of Camera. By the time Kahles joined the band, Brockmann had already departed, so the new ensemble adds another twist in bringing together two keyboard players from different Camera phases for the first time. The Brockmann-Drummer reunion, meanwhile, completes a circle tracing back to early Camera experiences shared in 2010/11, playing on the streets of Berlin. Paradoxically, the new Camera line-up sharpens the group's focus. With Drummer not so much joining the dots as hammering them home with a nail gun, the stronger framework allows even greater freedom for the musicians to express and align their disparate creative interests. The soundscape here assumes the quality of a cinematic loop, like watching the same film over and over, yet discovering new things each time it plays. The motorik origins of the band on their debut Radiate! (BB 116 CD/LP, 2012) eventually gave way to the playfulness on Phantom of Liberty (BB 235CD/LP, 2016). A spirit of experimentation still abounds on the new LP, but there's also evidence that the group have taken a step towards something more pop. The reference points are still there, but Emotional Detox is not dependent on them, encouraging us to disregard these multiple distractions." --Harry Calvino

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes CD. "Started as the so-called 'Krautrock Guerrilla' in 2012, six years later the Berlin combo Camera are releasing their fourth full-length album, Emotional Detox. Customarily associated with the likes of NEU! and La Düsseldorf it is time to allow Camera to break free of the krautrock tradition. For fans of nominative determinism, there can be few more apposite appelations than Michael Drummer. He is the catalyst, linking everything together as he crosses the soundscape of everything captured on Camera. The band's moniker Camera, meanwhile, is an altogether more capricious calling card. Emotional Detox is the fourth full-length album by Camera, now a quintet, following two albums as a trio and one as a duo. The line-up here comprises Steffen Kahles, Drummer, Michel Collet, Andreas Miranda and Timm Brockmann, all based in Berlin. Drummer is the only constant through all four phases. Brockmann, who left the group in 2014, returns to the fold. He and Franz Bargmann, who left Camera the year before him, released the duo album Licht (BB 269 CD/LP), a celebration of keys, guitars and effects which, at times, emulated the ferocious potential of Camera. By the time Kahles joined the band, Brockmann had already departed, so the new ensemble adds another twist in bringing together two keyboard players from different Camera phases for the first time. The Brockmann-Drummer reunion, meanwhile, completes a circle tracing back to early Camera experiences shared in 2010/11, playing on the streets of Berlin. Paradoxically, the new Camera line-up sharpens the group's focus. With Drummer not so much joining the dots as hammering them home with a nail gun, the stronger framework allows even greater freedom for the musicians to express and align their disparate creative interests. The soundscape here assumes the quality of a cinematic loop, like watching the same film over and over, yet discovering new things each time it plays. The motorik origins of the band on their debut Radiate! (BB 116 CD/LP, 2012) eventually gave way to the playfulness on Phantom of Liberty (BB 235CD/LP, 2016). A spirit of experimentation still abounds on the new LP, but there's also evidence that the group have taken a step towards something more pop. The reference points are still there, but Emotional Detox is not dependent on them, encouraging us to disregard these multiple distractions." --Harry Calvino

$22.00 IN STOCK

LP version. "Sowas Von Egal, is the result of a collaboration between Bureau B and the Hamburg party series Damaged Goods. Record companies and DJs are aligned through a love and passion for seeking out rare music which simply needs to be heard. For the three of us as DJs, we created Damaged Goods as a party where we could play music beyond the electro clichés. Our focus would be seldom-heard post-punk and synth-wave from, or in the style of, the 1980s. We'd slip in these unknown or long-forgotten treasures between more familiar hits from the genre to inspire and excite our guests. Eighties culture is very much a reference point today in music, art and fashion, so why not play the originals, especially as there is still so much to be discovered from that period? Many of the old records we'd play in the club had only been pressed in small quantities, often sold exclusively at the respective bands' gigs. More than 30 years later, it is almost impossible to get hold of these tracks, unless you pay over the odds on certain websites or track them down as inferior MP3s on this or that blog. This is why it was so important to us that our collaboration with Bureau B would be dedicated to selecting tracks for Sowas Von Egalwhich are not readily available on vinyl and have not been rereleased (or the reissues themselves are genuine rarities). The groundwork for this project was interesting in itself: sorting through and listening to songs, making lists, setting priorities, then getting in touch with labels and trying to find the musicians of yesteryear. This wasn't always so easy: some had disappeared from view, others had died. When we did find who we were looking for, the reaction was generally positive, although some were surprised that anybody was interested in their music today. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to Tom Morgenstern, who worked wonders with a jumble of disparate source material to achieve sonic consistency. Fans of our parties will recognize more than a few of the tracks on Sowas von egal; we are proud to have put together this collection." --Volker Kindt and Marco Flöß, June 2018. Features: Träneninvasion, Der Moderne Man, Silberstreif, El Deux, Nullzeit, Hoffnung and Psyche, Schwellköper, New Dimension, Berlin Express, Pension Stammheim, Alu, Matthias Schuster, Gorilla Aktiv, 08/15.

$17.00 IN STOCK

Elemente -- album number seven from the third incarnation of the legendary krautronic project Kluster/Cluster springs a surprise with a minor sensation: sequencer lines. Using an array of exclusively analogue instruments, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Onnen Bock, and Armin Metz have recorded eight tracks which, at one and the same time, are intrinsically hypnotic and sublimely beautiful. In principle, Elemente was created in much the same fashion as earlier Qluster albums: the three musicians met up in Schönberg, a remote hamlet in northern Mecklenburg. The eight pieces were distilled from the original recordings of their lengthy improvised sessions, with additional elements added to only three of the tracks in the production process: a synthesizer melody for "Zeno", a prepared piano for "Xymelan" and a computer beat for "Tatum". First special feature on the new album: the "tools of the trade". In their choice of equipment, Qluster reach back to their own history as Cluster, more than forty years ago, when legendary albums like 1974's Zuckerzeit (LR 333LP), 1976's Sowiesoso (BB 039CD/LP), and 1981's Curiosum (BB 038CD/LP) were made. Elemente has been crafted exclusively with analog instruments: a range of analog synthesizers, rhythm machines, a Farfisa organ, a Fender Rhodes piano, and various effects devices plus -- second special feature and making its debut in the band's narrative -- a 1970s sequencer playing an endless loop of manually recorded melodies, fed through effects and equalizers to achieve that typically hypnotic sequencer character. Listen out for them on "Perpetuum", "Xymelan", "Tatum" and "Lindow". By way of contrast, "Weite" and "Infinitum" unfold in vast echo chambers, free of metrics. Between these two very different musical forms lie "Zeno" and "Symbia". The former pulsates with long deep breaths beneath delicate sequences of notes emanating from the ARP 2600, the latter, "Symbia", layers a songlike Rhodes piano melody over an echoing, rhythmic Farfisa organ chord. After four electronic productions and two piano albums, Qluster now invite you to visit eight new and beguilingly beautiful worlds of sound on Elemente.

$17.00 IN STOCK

"Sowas Von Egal, is the result of a collaboration between Bureau B and the Hamburg party series Damaged Goods. Record companies and DJs are aligned through a love and passion for seeking out rare music which simply needs to be heard. For the three of us as DJs, we created Damaged Goods as a party where we could play music beyond the electro clichés. Our focus would be seldom-heard post-punk and synth-wave from, or in the style of, the 1980s. We'd slip in these unknown or long-forgotten treasures between more familiar hits from the genre to inspire and excite our guests. Eighties culture is very much a reference point today in music, art and fashion, so why not play the originals, especially as there is still so much to be discovered from that period? Many of the old records we'd play in the club had only been pressed in small quantities, often sold exclusively at the respective bands' gigs. More than 30 years later, it is almost impossible to get hold of these tracks, unless you pay over the odds on certain websites or track them down as inferior MP3s on this or that blog. This is why it was so important to us that our collaboration with Bureau B would be dedicated to selecting tracks for Sowas Von Egalwhich are not readily available on vinyl and have not been rereleased (or the reissues themselves are genuine rarities). The groundwork for this project was interesting in itself: sorting through and listening to songs, making lists, setting priorities, then getting in touch with labels and trying to find the musicians of yesteryear. This wasn't always so easy: some had disappeared from view, others had died. When we did find who we were looking for, the reaction was generally positive, although some were surprised that anybody was interested in their music today. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude to Tom Morgenstern, who worked wonders with a jumble of disparate source material to achieve sonic consistency. Fans of our parties will recognize more than a few of the tracks on Sowas von egal; we are proud to have put together this collection." --Volker Kindt and Marco Flöß, June 2018. Features: Träneninvasion, Der Moderne Man, Silberstreif, El Deux, Nullzeit, Hoffnung and Psyche, Schwellköper, New Dimension, Berlin Express, Pension Stammheim, Alu, Matthias Schuster, Gorilla Aktiv, 08/15.

$22.00 IN STOCK

LP version. ALU's inception as descendants of the psychedelic group Sand, founded by Ludwig Papenberg and Johannes Vester, comes in 1980. Their first single "Bitte Warten Sie!" appears on their own label Der Letzte Schrei! in 1981. Even on these early recordings, the project's sonic orientation is discernible: sequencer-driven, simplistic rhythmic structures layered over fragments of free text, a common thread tracing ALU's musical contours through various successive metamorphoses. Although the band emerged from Berlin's cassette underground, their brittle sound is closer to the likes of Nocturnal Emissions or Cabaret Voltaire in England than to their German counterparts. The first realignment came in 1981 when vocalist Nadja Molt joined the group. Her voice cuts deep furrows into the tracks, at times lurking ominously in the background, elsewhere virtually exploding out of certain tracks. Logged by the band as ALU II, this phase fails to produce any studio recordings, but two live LPs Störfaktor I - Alus Riskantes Experiment 31.7.81 im Risiko (1981) and Licht (1982) survive as audible witnesses. Ludwig Papenberg left before 1982 reached its conclusion; Vester and Molt continued as a duo, now called ALU III, resolutely pursuing the principles of concentrated improvisation and maximum creative autonomy. On the live cassette, Geistige Erneuerung (1983), the band outlined their philosophy, "We aim to store as many sounds, noise and rhythmic frameworks as possible in our synthesizers and drum machines as we allow them to unfold naturally when we play live. Words and vocals are snapshots, spontaneous phenomena." Two other cassettes were released the same year, Ungesunde Traumbilder and Attrition/Alu. These proved to be the final studio recordings before ALU exited the scene with a concert at Fabrik in Hamburg, entitled Performance und kein Ende in 1986. The ALU oeuvre thus covers seven years of divergent creativity, yet the group's inner compass never wavers. ALU represent understated understatement, their music touching on genres such as electro, techno or IDM which would only materialize years later. Repetitive sequences sound like taut loops, their frequencies tuned to allow the original sample to shine through in skeletal fashion. Die Vertreibung der Zeit is more than a mere historical document; in order to understand the bigger picture of contemporary club culture, this collection is an essential piece of the puzzle.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes CD. Elemente -- album number seven from the third incarnation of the legendary krautronic project Kluster/Cluster springs a surprise with a minor sensation: sequencer lines. Using an array of exclusively analogue instruments, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Onnen Bock, and Armin Metz have recorded eight tracks which, at one and the same time, are intrinsically hypnotic and sublimely beautiful. In principle, Elemente was created in much the same fashion as earlier Qluster albums: the three musicians met up in Schönberg, a remote hamlet in northern Mecklenburg. The eight pieces were distilled from the original recordings of their lengthy improvised sessions, with additional elements added to only three of the tracks in the production process: a synthesizer melody for "Zeno", a prepared piano for "Xymelan" and a computer beat for "Tatum". First special feature on the new album: the "tools of the trade". In their choice of equipment, Qluster reach back to their own history as Cluster, more than forty years ago, when legendary albums like 1974's Zuckerzeit (LR 333LP), 1976's Sowiesoso (BB 039CD/LP), and 1981's Curiosum (BB 038CD/LP) were made. Elemente has been crafted exclusively with analog instruments: a range of analog synthesizers, rhythm machines, a Farfisa organ, a Fender Rhodes piano, and various effects devices plus -- second special feature and making its debut in the band's narrative -- a 1970s sequencer playing an endless loop of manually recorded melodies, fed through effects and equalizers to achieve that typically hypnotic sequencer character. Listen out for them on "Perpetuum", "Xymelan", "Tatum" and "Lindow". By way of contrast, "Weite" and "Infinitum" unfold in vast echo chambers, free of metrics. Between these two very different musical forms lie "Zeno" and "Symbia". The former pulsates with long deep breaths beneath delicate sequences of notes emanating from the ARP 2600, the latter, "Symbia", layers a songlike Rhodes piano melody over an echoing, rhythmic Farfisa organ chord. After four electronic productions and two piano albums, Qluster now invite you to visit eight new and beguilingly beautiful worlds of sound on Elemente.

$16.50 IN STOCK

ALU's inception as descendants of the psychedelic group Sand, founded by Ludwig Papenberg and Johannes Vester, comes in 1980. Their first single "Bitte Warten Sie!" appears on their own label Der Letzte Schrei! in 1981. Even on these early recordings, the project's sonic orientation is discernible: sequencer-driven, simplistic rhythmic structures layered over fragments of free text, a common thread tracing ALU's musical contours through various successive metamorphoses. Although the band emerged from Berlin's cassette underground, their brittle sound is closer to the likes of Nocturnal Emissions or Cabaret Voltaire in England than to their German counterparts. The first realignment came in 1981 when vocalist Nadja Molt joined the group. Her voice cuts deep furrows into the tracks, at times lurking ominously in the background, elsewhere virtually exploding out of certain tracks. Logged by the band as ALU II, this phase fails to produce any studio recordings, but two live LPs Störfaktor I - Alus Riskantes Experiment 31.7.81 im Risiko (1981) and Licht (1982) survive as audible witnesses. Ludwig Papenberg left before 1982 reached its conclusion; Vester and Molt continued as a duo, now called ALU III, resolutely pursuing the principles of concentrated improvisation and maximum creative autonomy. On the live cassette, Geistige Erneuerung (1983), the band outlined their philosophy, "We aim to store as many sounds, noise and rhythmic frameworks as possible in our synthesizers and drum machines as we allow them to unfold naturally when we play live. Words and vocals are snapshots, spontaneous phenomena." Two other cassettes were released the same year, Ungesunde Traumbilder and Attrition/Alu. These proved to be the final studio recordings before ALU exited the scene with a concert at Fabrik in Hamburg, entitled Performance und kein Ende in 1986. The ALU oeuvre thus covers seven years of divergent creativity, yet the group's inner compass never wavers. ALU represent understated understatement, their music touching on genres such as electro, techno or IDM which would only materialize years later. Repetitive sequences sound like taut loops, their frequencies tuned to allow the original sample to shine through in skeletal fashion. Die Vertreibung der Zeit is more than a mere historical document; in order to understand the bigger picture of contemporary club culture, this collection is an essential piece of the puzzle.

$25.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

Bureau B present a 30th anniversary reissue of Camouflage's Voices & Images, originally released in 1988. Founded in Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig, and Marcus Meyn in 1984, Camouflage recorded their first demos in a home-made studio which they set up in the cellar of one of their parents' houses. These early recordings found their way onto a local radio station via a competition which caught the attention of a small publishing company. Ultimately, this led to the band signing a deal with Metronome, a major record label. They scored a hit with their debut single "The Great Commandment", released in the autumn of 1987. Even more astonishing than the #14 spot they reached in the German singles charts was their success across the Atlantic, where a remix version peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance Club chart. The single topped the charts in countries like Taiwan and Singapore, rightfully claiming its status as a worldwide hit, enhanced by heavy rotation for the song's video on MTV. The debut album Voices & Images followed in March, selling well over half-a-million copies worldwide and becoming a classic in the genre of synth pop. Who would have believed that this trio of school pals could create such an international sound? Moreover, the boost they gave to the genre is nothing short of remarkable. To mark the 30th anniversary of Voices & Images, the album now earns a repackaged, limited edition reissue featuring deleted remixes, rare versions, and B-sides.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes CD. After twenty years of Kammerflimmer Kollektief, with ten albums thus far, the Karlsruhe combo here guide their listeners through seven pieces in which a listening space emerges at the intersection of improvisation and composition, a space where certitude slips out of reach, oscillating furiously between cut-up and palimpsest before it disappears altogether. There Are Actions Which We Have Neglected And Which Never Cease To Call Us is one for the fearless, wordlessly conjuring up enchanted places in the richest of tones, simultaneously confronting its listeners with magic which captivates, and the realization that they may never be released from its spell. Mirror images come into view, images of ourselves driven away, tormented by feelings of guilt, frozen in powerlessness, even when you believe you are still moving. The wetlands of the Upper Rhine plain, Cuernavaca in the Mexican highlands, a southern California stretch of Pacific coast, the Baltic Coast in Mecklenburg; haunted places, scenes of melancholy, repeatedly searching for acts of liberation. This may not be the record to set you free, but it offers a soundtrack for a melancholic state. One thing is clear when it comes to the Kammerflimmer Kollektief: regardless of any interpretive traps snapping shut, here is something which cannot be voiced; whichever labels are stuck on the Karlsruhe collective, they all feel patently unsatisfactory. Like all music, their music can neither be narrowed down to concepts nor fixed semantically. It cannot be organized as language, yet it is no more pre-conceptual in its existence. These carefully unconsidered atheist jam supplications lead you into the darkest corners of your souls, out of the night and into the night. The bass of Johannes Frisch creaks and hums, evolving into barely discernible undergrowth with a life of its own, yet becoming the foundation of everything, a basso continuo, constantly leading into nothingness. Heike Aumüller's harmonium is elementally a wind which has much to tell us about life, but even more about what tortures us, leaves you restless, while Thomas Weber's whirring guitars and gadgets drag us into a wondrously reverberating space of special effects. Amidst all the excitement which awaits you on this short journey, it is worth remembering that as the shaman hangs out his magic roots to dry in the morning as preparation for the ritual ecstasy of the evening, so the Kollektief follow an everyday principle in their own ritual.

$17.00 IN STOCK

After twenty years of Kammerflimmer Kollektief, with ten albums thus far, the Karlsruhe combo here guide their listeners through seven pieces in which a listening space emerges at the intersection of improvisation and composition, a space where certitude slips out of reach, oscillating furiously between cut-up and palimpsest before it disappears altogether. There Are Actions Which We Have Neglected And Which Never Cease To Call Us is one for the fearless, wordlessly conjuring up enchanted places in the richest of tones, simultaneously confronting its listeners with magic which captivates, and the realization that they may never be released from its spell. Mirror images come into view, images of ourselves driven away, tormented by feelings of guilt, frozen in powerlessness, even when you believe you are still moving. The wetlands of the Upper Rhine plain, Cuernavaca in the Mexican highlands, a southern California stretch of Pacific coast, the Baltic Coast in Mecklenburg; haunted places, scenes of melancholy, repeatedly searching for acts of liberation. This may not be the record to set you free, but it offers a soundtrack for a melancholic state. One thing is clear when it comes to the Kammerflimmer Kollektief: regardless of any interpretive traps snapping shut, here is something which cannot be voiced; whichever labels are stuck on the Karlsruhe collective, they all feel patently unsatisfactory. Like all music, their music can neither be narrowed down to concepts nor fixed semantically. It cannot be organized as language, yet it is no more pre-conceptual in its existence. These carefully unconsidered atheist jam supplications lead you into the darkest corners of your souls, out of the night and into the night. The bass of Johannes Frisch creaks and hums, evolving into barely discernible undergrowth with a life of its own, yet becoming the foundation of everything, a basso continuo, constantly leading into nothingness. Heike Aumüller's harmonium is elementally a wind which has much to tell us about life, but even more about what tortures us, leaves you restless, while Thomas Weber's whirring guitars and gadgets drag us into a wondrously reverberating space of special effects. Amidst all the excitement which awaits you on this short journey, it is worth remembering that as the shaman hangs out his magic roots to dry in the morning as preparation for the ritual ecstasy of the evening, so the Kollektief follow an everyday principle in their own ritual.

$17.00 IN STOCK

Long before Elon Musk reached for the stars with his SpaceX project, a Swabian engineer by the name of Lutz Kayser harbored his own childhood dream of a voyage into space. Fly Rocket Fly - Mit Macheten Zu Den Sternen ("To The Stars With Machetes") tells the remarkable story of how he and a dedicated band of Stuttgart engineers founded the world's first private space exploration enterprise: Orbital Transport-und Raketen Aktiengesellschaft, or OTRAG (Orbital Transport and Rockets Inc.). Having enlisted Wernher von Braun as scientific adviser, this early start-up developed a rocket in the late 1960s on the principle of low cost rather than high tech. Windscreen wiper motors were deployed in valve control systems, for example. Kayser's search for a suitable development site led him to African dictator Mobutu Sese Seko who signed off on a deal to allow OTRAG to establish a launch facility in the Congolese jungle. OTRAG built their very own German Cape Canaveral in an area the size of the former GDR, complete with its own butcher's shop and marijuana plantation. They successfully launched several rockets to suborbital altitude before the global political crisis of the mid-1970s put an end to OTRAG's activities. Nobody wanted to see German rockets in the skies over the African jungle (or anywhere else) 30 years after the war -- Fly Rocket Fly is a madcap mix of adventure, political thriller, farce and economic drama -- somewhere between Fitzcarraldo (1982), The Wages of Fear (1953) and Tintin: Explorers On The Moon. The documentary's soundtrack, to be released on Hamburg-based label Bureau B, features songs by the likes of ESB, Camera, Conrad Schnitzler, Günter Schickert, Die Wilde Jagd, as well as new productions from film composer Heiko Maile. Also features Solyst, Dennis Young, Rolf Trostel, and Moebius Neumeier Engler. CD version includes three bonus tracks.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes CD. Long before Elon Musk reached for the stars with his SpaceX project, a Swabian engineer by the name of Lutz Kayser harbored his own childhood dream of a voyage into space. Fly Rocket Fly - Mit Macheten Zu Den Sternen ("To The Stars With Machetes") tells the remarkable story of how he and a dedicated band of Stuttgart engineers founded the world's first private space exploration enterprise: Orbital Transport-und Raketen Aktiengesellschaft, or OTRAG (Orbital Transport and Rockets Inc.). Having enlisted Wernher von Braun as scientific adviser, this early start-up developed a rocket in the late 1960s on the principle of low cost rather than high tech. Windscreen wiper motors were deployed in valve control systems, for example. Kayser's search for a suitable development site led him to African dictator Mobutu Sese Seko who signed off on a deal to allow OTRAG to establish a launch facility in the Congolese jungle. OTRAG built their very own German Cape Canaveral in an area the size of the former GDR, complete with its own butcher's shop and marijuana plantation. They successfully launched several rockets to suborbital altitude before the global political crisis of the mid-1970s put an end to OTRAG's activities. Nobody wanted to see German rockets in the skies over the African jungle (or anywhere else) 30 years after the war -- Fly Rocket Fly is a madcap mix of adventure, political thriller, farce and economic drama -- somewhere between Fitzcarraldo (1982), The Wages of Fear (1953) and Tintin: Explorers On The Moon. The documentary's soundtrack, to be released on Hamburg-based label Bureau B, features songs by the likes of ESB, Camera, Conrad Schnitzler, Günter Schickert, Die Wilde Jagd, as well as new productions from film composer Heiko Maile. Also features Solyst, Dennis Young, Rolf Trostel, and Moebius Neumeier Engler. CD includes three bonus tracks.

$22.00 IN STOCK

LP version. In 1983, electronic musician Rudolf Langer (Tyndall) and guitarist Peter Preuß teamed up to form a duo by the name of LAPRE (LAnger + PREuß). Aligned with the second generation of the Berlin School, their output is incredibly varied: from repetitive sequencer patterns via playfully cheerful synth pop all the way to atmospheric, hypnotic minor key expanses. It's all there. By 1984, LAPRE had released two tapes and a 12" vinyl. Bureau B's compilation presents the most compelling tracks from these releases. Rudolf Langer began his musical career as one half of Tyndall. The duo released four albums on Sky Records between 1979 and 1983. By the time the two musicians reached the fourth album (BB 289CD/LP), they were barely on speaking terms, so each recorded one side of the LP on his own. The split from his former partner turned out to be a liberating experience for Rudolf Langer, both in a personal and artistic sense. As luck would have it, Langer was riding home one night with a colleague from work, Peter Preuß, and a tape machine was lying on the back seat of the car. It turned out that Preuß was also a musician, a guitarist in fact, and they decided to hook up for a jam session. The results were hugely promising and a plan was made to record together. What should they call the project? The answer was simple -- take the first letters of their names. LAnger + PREuß = LAPRE. They worked on track after track after track and produced two tapes over the next two years ("Tedan" in 1983 and "Flokati" in 1984), each numbering 30?50 copies, intended for sale at concerts. A 12" single on their own label (Oeso) followed later in 1984. Although guitar features on every track, LAPRE's early recordings relate to the Berlin School, with their music, specifically their use of synthesizers, echoing the tradition of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, et al. LAPRE's mix of analog synthesizers, acoustic guitars and drum computers saw the duo occupy a previously uncharted niche in electronic music. How wonderful to see these recordings being made available to a wider audience over thirty years later. First time CD release for all tracks.

$17.00 IN STOCK

In 1983, electronic musician Rudolf Langer (Tyndall) and guitarist Peter Preuß teamed up to form a duo by the name of LAPRE (LAnger + PREuß). Aligned with the second generation of the Berlin School, their output is incredibly varied: from repetitive sequencer patterns via playfully cheerful synth pop all the way to atmospheric, hypnotic minor key expanses. It's all there. By 1984, LAPRE had released two tapes and a 12" vinyl. Bureau B's compilation presents the most compelling tracks from these releases. Rudolf Langer began his musical career as one half of Tyndall. The duo released four albums on Sky Records between 1979 and 1983. By the time the two musicians reached the fourth album (BB 289CD/LP), they were barely on speaking terms, so each recorded one side of the LP on his own. The split from his former partner turned out to be a liberating experience for Rudolf Langer, both in a personal and artistic sense. As luck would have it, Langer was riding home one night with a colleague from work, Peter Preuß, and a tape machine was lying on the back seat of the car. It turned out that Preuß was also a musician, a guitarist in fact, and they decided to hook up for a jam session. The results were hugely promising and a plan was made to record together. What should they call the project? The answer was simple -- take the first letters of their names. LAnger + PREuß = LAPRE. They worked on track after track after track and produced two tapes over the next two years ("Tedan" in 1983 and "Flokati" in 1984), each numbering 30?50 copies, intended for sale at concerts. A 12" single on their own label (Oeso) followed later in 1984. Although guitar features on every track, LAPRE's early recordings relate to the Berlin School, with their music, specifically their use of synthesizers, echoing the tradition of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, et al. LAPRE's mix of analog synthesizers, acoustic guitars and drum computers saw the duo occupy a previously uncharted niche in electronic music. How wonderful to see these recordings being made available to a wider audience over thirty years later. First time CD release for all tracks.