A stunning album of electronic interaction between long-time collaborators Thomas Lehn on analog synthesizer and Marcus Schmickler on computer, created from two performances in Munster, Germany in 2016 and in Wels, Austria in 2013, resulting in a dynamic album that's both vicious and beautiful, relentless yet manageable, a masterpiece of impressive sonic power.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2017 Country: Russia Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Recorded at LWL-Museum, in Munster, Germany, on February 12th, 2016, and at Schlacthof, in Wels, Austria, on November 9th, 2013.
"Thomas Lehn and Marcus Schmickler have been known for building their sonic worlds for 17 years since their first album Bart. After 6 years of studio silence, here comes Neue Bilder. Their 5th album is a constant flux of musical juxtapositions, collisions and balance of their tour de force with analogue synth and computer.
The album features two tracks created from two concentrated performances in Munster and Wels, both being magnificently reworked stereo versions of their quadrophonic live concerts. Neue Bilder goes further in their development of sound with meticulously constructed abruptly appearing and disappearing abrasive and tonal sound clusters, remote echoes, and lonely remnants.
The CD comes in an awesome artwork by Heike Sperling - who also did the cover for Bart (2000), adding to a time-warp just like the musicians' instruments."-Mikroton
"These two purveyors of experimental electronic music based in Cologne, Germany, have forged a dynamic partnership over the last two decades, bridging differences in age, musical backgrounds, and the hardware they prefer to produce music of uncanny visceral power. Lehn's analog synthesizer mastery is rooted in free improvisation, while Schmickler's digital synthesis has a foundation in techno. Working together, they find a elusive yet thrilling common ground. On last year's terrific Neue Bilder (Mikroton) their fast-moving, rapidly morphing collisions defy identification. I have serious trouble figuring out who's doing what, but that certainly doesn't matter much in the end: aqueous, sci-fi long tones are pitted against splattery, acidic noise bursts; echo-laden oscillated abstractions are slathered in blorpy, viscous drips; and so on. Each musician is deeply attuned to what the other is doing, and there seems to be zero latency in their reaction time; as their alien machinations unfold in quicksilver sprints, they pull the listener along for a disorienting, yet exhilarating ride."-Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader