Reviews Search

STEINBR√úCHEL, "ZWISCHEN.RAUM"

Domizil
Steinbrüchel zooms in from Zurich weaving unique cyclical digitalhisscapes. On this 3" CD he repeatedly unwinds a coiled wire ofimmersive hi-tone ambience in exponentially swelling chunks. Betweeneach are short silent gaps which have been given their own track ID.The first track is seconds of silence and each odd numbered track lopsa couple of seconds off its silent spell. Each time round more isrevealed, until track 18 the full eight minute masterpiece unfurls.This might seem a bit of a pointlessly conceptual approach, but itworks brilliantly, as each new track paints in a little more detail.About halfway through it's evolution, a bass drone undertow bolstersthe meticulous circling scatter-glitch'n'sinewave. Steinbrüchel israising the stakes for anyone trying their hand at 21st century ambientcomputer music, and my powers of description seem utterly inadequte toconvey the mysterious alien beauty of 'zwischen.raum.' The shortduration of the 3" disc works in his favour, leaving me curious to hearmore. This CD will probably appeal to those who enjoy the fine honedtones of Fennesz, Thomas Köner, Ryoji Ikeda, Mika Vainio and OrenAmbarchi. Words are not much use here, I've been trying and failing forweeks now to do this CD justice. Just try the sound samples.

 

samples: