“Minimalist EM at its best, Irrgarten enchants with its long musical rivers adorned of a thousand nuances and subtilities”
1 Das Labyrinth 25:42 2 Reflexionen 12:36 3 Der Spiegel 13:05 Nord Music
(DDL 51:23) (V.F.) (New Berlin School)
There is a lot of EM created in the Kontinuum Productions studios. I hardly savored Elektronische Erinnerungen that I'm discovering this IRRGARTEN. And guess what? Irrgarten 2 is already released! Of course, that some of us will be very suspicious, me the first one, in front of a such avalanche of EM in so little time. Especially when we know how things work. How grant an artistic credibility to an artist who composes an electronic symphony in not even two months? It is thus with a lot of suspicion, skepticism, that I approach this album, written, recorded and released even not two months after the very seductive Elektronische Erinnerungen. What had charmed me in this album was the influences, extremely rare to our contemporary craftsmen, of Klaus Schulze's In Blue era. Sequences with tones of glass dipped in silver and these harmonies of a synth from which we quite don't distinguish the flute of an alto saxophone are always present in the long minimalist structures that Andreas Meyer likes to build with creativity as well as to dismantle them.
After the hum of some long whoosh flagellated of scarlet lines, Das Labyrinth spreads its arsenal of sequences with keys which pulse violently like a herd of fingers which bombard a table until crushing their nails. The minimalist signature of the sequences which point the sky and the ground at full speed over harmonies of a synth replete by the soft fragrance of Schulze in the In Blue years invades our ears of its hypnotic charms. Already the structure of the sequencer activates its keys which make kicks in their tones of crystal beneath the hot caresses of a synth and of its oniric harmonious solos. Solos which fill our ears with sweet nostalgic perfumes while that quite slowly Das Labyrinth develops its minimalist movement with the full of nuances in the tone of sequences and of a rhythm which fatten up its depth with sober percussions and a good line of bass. And the movement becomes richer, livelier, with good Tablas percussions and a drum more in the rock kind while the hyper nervous sequences and a pleasant synth with its airy solos keeps the cape of contemporary EM. This long movement splits its charms little after the 12th minute, leading Das Labyrinth towards a lighter structure where we are capable of seizing better all the work of Andreas Meyer. The rhythm remains lively, although relieved of its heaviness. A heaviness which returns little by little, taking back here and there the bewitching elements of its first part. This is quite a track my friends! We always stay in the minimalist art with Reflexionen and its long structure of rhythm a bit spasmodic which seems to descend like an inexhaustible fall of sequences. The movement progresses quite slowly beneath the squeaking of synth and with sequences which untie some buzzing shadows. The organic tones enrich the ambiences which will turn subtly in a kind of Funky mood toward the end. Knocks of bass drum adorn the soporific approach of the movement which deviates delicately from its axis in order to propose a slightly zigzagging movement.
The creativity of Andreas Meyer saves the day here with a synth which frees ghost harmonies from which the twisted cooings frolic with effects of nightmarish voices. We may say that the movement repeats tirelessly that the work of seduction makes its work with its uncountable additions which make of Andreas Meyer's minimalist structures some beautiful small jewels of addiction. Our ears swallow this track without having nausea for redundancy. The same goes for Der Spiegel which, after an opening fed by radioactive vapors, offers a structure of rhythm of which the light gallop is swallowed by the multiple soporific effects of the synths. The metallic elytrons spit tsitt-tsitt, helping to amplify this perception of crescendo which wallows in the soft caresses of synths more anesthetic here. And even if these synths blow harmonies of ether of the Irrlicht years, the structure of Der Spiegel screws into our ears a feeling of already-heard with these knocks of bass percussions which don't accelerate the pace but maintain the music in its ambient mood with a synth which multiplies towards the end some sweet caresses enthralling for the sense of hearing. So, thwarting the vapors of redundancy and of boredom which often feed the defects of those long minimalist structures.
Once again, even if we don't speak of a stroke of genius here, I was bewitched by the approaches of Andreas Meyer. Very clever in the way he builds his serial movements which grow rich before we get bored, the Rumanian synthesist manages to maintain an interest with an EM which is very delicious in his clothes of Klaus Schulze. Das Labyrinth is a monument. The best title of IRRGARTEN and undoubtedly Andreas Meyer's business card for our ears.
Sylvain Lupari (February 10th, 2016) ***½**
Available at Nord Bandcamp