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Digitalis
By Markus Reuter
Hypnos Recordings, 2000
http://www.hypnos.com
Hypnos Recordings always brings us fascinating music.
Digitalis comes from Markus Reuter in Germany. Like
Hypnos' Jeff Pearce, Reuter uses only electronically modified and
custom-built guitars to make his sounds, and as in much of
Pearce's work, Reuter records "real-time." Again like Pearce,
you'd never know that Reuter was playing a guitar or any other
stringed instrument as it sounds just like a synthesizer.
Despite the commonalities, Reuter and Pearce are very
different. Reuter, in Digitalis, uses the overwrought
chromaticism of European twentieth-century classical music as
his harmonic resource, filling his musical passages with ascending and
descending scales, along with wildly swirling spirals of notes
produced by some arcane gadget faster than any human hand could
play them. The swirling persists through the first four or five
pieces, and then fades into a more familiar "dark ambient" style of
sustained, organ-like chords. The track titles are taken from the
language of mysticism and occultism: "Into the invisible world,"
"A massive glowing three-axis cross," and "Demonic
Interference." Spooky, no?
But there is also an "Angelic Interference" on the album.
As the album progresses, Reuter passes from his ominous
chromaticism (which sinks into the abyss on track 8, "Radiating
Blackness") into a more conventional, plaintive modal harmony. In
the last three tracks, the listener is led towards a lighter, more
hopeful mood, until with the last two, "Whole" and "Holy," the
sound is purely soft, meditative slow notes with not much motion
at all.
It's clearly meant to be a kind of spiritual narrative done in
sound, but without the heavy mysticism of the track titles it must
stand on its own as pure music. And I find that I like the earlier
part of the album (the chromatic whirling scales and arpeggios) far
better than the rather rambling, simpler compositions at the end.
Does that mean that I would rather be among the demons of the
invisible world, or just that they have a better soundtrack?
HMGS rating: 8 out of 10
5/19/01
Markus Reuter: The Longest in Terms of Being
Markus Reuter is the master of the ambient touch guitar.
Mark Warr, of WARR Guitars, is the exclusive of Markus' guitars.
This instrument, in the hands of this virtuoso, produces a very distinct
sound. When Markus adds manipulations and treatments, the sound goes over the
top, into uncharted zones.
He recorded the tracks for The Longest in Terms of Being from July, 1999
through October, 1999 with one track from March, 2000. This set is a
progression and a roller coaster of emotions. Markus has chosen to take
listeners on a whirlwind tour of their own psyches. It promises to be an
intense journey and to run the gamut of the dark side of the self. There are
brief respites of contemplative melancholia but the overwhelming moods are
dark, somber and ominous. At times, the disc even threatens to go sinister.
This CD, released in 2001, is an excellent companion to Markus' collaborations,
group projects and solo efforts.
~ Jim Brenholts, EER-MUSIC.com
Centrozoon aka Markus Reuter: Sunset Lounge Debris
Centrozoon is Markus Reuter - touch
guitar and loops - and Bernhard Wostenreich - synthesizers and
percussion. Sunset Lounge Debris is a set of unique ambience
recorded "live" in the studio.
Markus's touch guitar, made exclusively by Mark Warr of WARR
Guitars, creates, in and of itself, unique sounds and unusual ambience.
Bernhard's synths add depth and the loops add atmospheres. It all adds up to
some wild ambient journeys.
The journeys are not only wild, they are also worthy. The zones are strange
and delightful. Markus and Bernhard take listeners in many different
directions, simultaneously at times. By juxtaposing light and dark ambience,
they have created a challenging soundscape.
This is a great CD from a great duo.
~ Jim Brenholts, EER-MUSIC.com
Ian Boddy, Markus Reuter and Nigel Mullaney: Triptych
A triptych is a picture made up of three distinct pictures. It can be folded
so that each picture can be viewed separately. Triptychs are often religious
images.
Triptych is also a deep set of e-music from Ian Boddy, Markus
Reuter and Nigel Mullaney. Ian and Nigel collaborated as Dub
Atomica on Autonomic. Ian and Markus collaborated on Distant
Rituals, one of the first releases on Ian's DiN label.
This CD has a lot going for it. As listeners expect from Ian, there are scads
of deep sequences and large atmospheres. Markus's WARR guitar has its
customary distinct and experimental sound. Nigel's steady rhythms and
manipulations complete the set.
And what a thrill ride this is! These consummate electronicians are at the top
of their games. The synth plays off the WARR guitar perfectly. Ian and Markus
are in the sympatico zone. It is as if they are one. Nigel's ministrations
are not secondary either. These three artistes are on the same page at the
same time.
The DiN label is still putting out "the finest in electronica."
This CD, DiN #9, is some of the year's best space music.
~ Jim Brenholts, EER-MUSIC.com
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