Review Rock music

Conrad Schnitzler

Grün

Bureau B • 2014

Tape of the Year 2023

In Conrad Schnitzler’s early phase, extended pieces that take up an entire side of a record were certainly not uncommon. With »Der Riese und seine Frau«, the opening piece on »Grün«, the Berlin-based electronic musician departs from the twenty-minute format of his previous albums and creates a half-hour behemoth out of a handful of elements. Iridescent sounds float over an industrial-style rumbling, heavily reverberated drum computer, fizzing up and down like a tide over the rugged rhythm foundation. Despite the fact that very little happens in basic terms, the piece hardly seems static, but rather draws its dynamics from its contrasting components. The ingredients in »Bis die blaue Blume blüht« are less contrasting: a slowly ascending motif is endlessly interlaced, giving the impression of an unending melody in permanent motion. This is accompanied by hissing and whistling at regular intervals from the background. Even so, the piece lasts 20 minutes, which are not absolute however: with this number, the listener is expressly asked to choose between playback speeds of 33 and 45 rpm. The result is a hypnotic maelstrom that unfolds either leisurely or somewhat hectically. The CD version offers both versions one after the other.

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