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Gudrun Gut, "I Put a Record On"
Despite (or perhaps because of) a 25 year long career playing with Einstürzende Neubauten, Mania D and Malaria! as well as running a successful record label, she has never put out her own album. I Put a Record On is a far cry from her previous work with the other groups: it captures the modern Berlin's new slick, chic culture as opposed to the decay and geographical isolation that gave birth to the Neue Deutsche Welle.
Monika Enterprise
I was expecting I Put a Record On to be more upbeat and clubby, instead Gut has gone for a more laid back approach and released an album that Portishead might make if they were Berliners. I get the feeling that Gut was aiming to create an album that could be used to soothe ringing ears after a hard night out. The beats are simple: strong enough to get a body moving in sync but soft enough to prevent full on dancing. The pulse of Berlin's night life is detectable on the first few songs, especially the terrific track "The Land," but the night quickly swallows up the life as the album gets sleepier and sleepier. Gut's vocals are hushed and nearly always tweaked with effects. At first I thought she was trying to hide her singing but on closer inspection I think the effects are more for smoky ambience. The way the album winds down is relaxing, by the end of the disc I am ready to curl up and sleep (and not out of boredom).
The best songs occur towards the end of the album when Manon P. Duursma, one of Gut's old bandmates from Malaria!, contributes to the music (although little traces of Malaria! are present). "Pleasuretrain" and "The Wheel" are both great tracks, the latter captures the sound and feeling of being in a nightclub under tropical waters that Gut strove to create with her Ocean Club project. The discs that resulted from that project (Members of the Ocean Club) is quite similar in tone to this album. However, instead of the late evening, early night buzz of the Ocean Club, I Put a Record On is a collection of songs for that late night, early morning come-down.
While I Put a Record On is not as innovative or groundbreaking as some of Gut's earlier endeavours, it is still a good record. It does something that many albums do not do and that is capturing the feeling of a city accurately and vividly. Looking at the sleeve and listening to I Put a Record On immediately makes me think of strolling through Mitte on a late summer evening. Maybe it is my soft spot for Berlin coloring my view of this album but I cannot help but be impressed by Gut's elegant and charming songs.
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