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STEPHAN MATHIEU AND EKKEHARD EHLERS, "HEROIN"
Orthlong Musork
First issued in 2001 in a limited, card-packaged edition on the DutchBrombron label (a guise of Staalplaat, in collaboration with theNijmegen rehearsal space Extrapool), Heroin (reviewed in Brain v5i20)certainly deserves this reissue, as one of the most celebrated releasesin the microsound "genre". Now remastered, it's made even moreappealing by the addition of a CD of "extensions" of the original,provided by luminaries such as Christian Fennesz, Nobukazu Takemura,Kit Clayton, Akira Rabelais, Freiband, and Oren Ambarchi. Theremastering gives a slightly crisper sound, particularly in the highfrequencies, helping to emphasise the album's digitally processed feel.Yet this doesn't detract from the engaging warmth of the original,whose shimmering, looped phrases produce a diverting emotionalconnection. Its 13 tracks are often touching, humourous, or both, as inthe heavily processed "Turkey Song," which makes a new Christmasclassic out of the music from Peanuts cartoons. The"extensions" themselves appear to be either remixes or attempts totouch on similar musical ground. Takemura's skittering, high BPMworkout "Child's View," which samples "Heroique," is far from the soundof the Mathieu and Ehlers's tracks, but nonetheless excellent. Otherhighlights are the gentle avant guitar of Joseph Suchy (who worked withEhlers on the Plays series), the always enjoyable Fennesz, andCarmen Baier's edgy soundscape "Webteil." The second CD, presented bythe packaging as a second Heroin, or perhaps a part of thefirst, can only honestly be taken as a remix project, lacking thecohesion of the original. But all of the new tracks meet a highstandard, and certainly don't feel throwaway. The original stillcommands greater attention, and its appeal should cement it over timeas a minor classic of modern electronica.
First issued in 2001 in a limited, card-packaged edition on the DutchBrombron label (a guise of Staalplaat, in collaboration with theNijmegen rehearsal space Extrapool), Heroin (reviewed in Brain v5i20)certainly deserves this reissue, as one of the most celebrated releasesin the microsound "genre". Now remastered, it's made even moreappealing by the addition of a CD of "extensions" of the original,provided by luminaries such as Christian Fennesz, Nobukazu Takemura,Kit Clayton, Akira Rabelais, Freiband, and Oren Ambarchi. Theremastering gives a slightly crisper sound, particularly in the highfrequencies, helping to emphasise the album's digitally processed feel.Yet this doesn't detract from the engaging warmth of the original,whose shimmering, looped phrases produce a diverting emotionalconnection. Its 13 tracks are often touching, humourous, or both, as inthe heavily processed "Turkey Song," which makes a new Christmasclassic out of the music from Peanuts cartoons. The"extensions" themselves appear to be either remixes or attempts totouch on similar musical ground. Takemura's skittering, high BPMworkout "Child's View," which samples "Heroique," is far from the soundof the Mathieu and Ehlers's tracks, but nonetheless excellent. Otherhighlights are the gentle avant guitar of Joseph Suchy (who worked withEhlers on the Plays series), the always enjoyable Fennesz, andCarmen Baier's edgy soundscape "Webteil." The second CD, presented bythe packaging as a second Heroin, or perhaps a part of thefirst, can only honestly be taken as a remix project, lacking thecohesion of the original. But all of the new tracks meet a highstandard, and certainly don't feel throwaway. The original stillcommands greater attention, and its appeal should cement it over timeas a minor classic of modern electronica.
