Peter Michael Hamel - 1972 - Hamel

Peter Michael Hamel, hailing from Munich, Germany is a prolific man, an enthusiast of the Minimalist and the New Simplicity movements, which were perhaps at their most active in the 70s. The aim of New Simplicity was to seek a more direct and immediate approach to their audience, a rejection of the intellectual complexity of the avant-garde and possibly a sort of early anticipation of the ambient music later to come. Hamel was also the founder of the excellent krautrock group Between who made 6 LPs throughout the decade. His solo projects continue to this day. He also was a professor in composition at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg from 1997 to 2012 and has been involved in numerous operas and orchestral compositions.

1. Storm Over Asia and Calm
2. Baliava 1
3. Baliava 2
4. Fire of Holy Eyes
5. Songs of the Dolphins
6. Sinking Sangsara
7. Aura
8. Gomorrhaga
9. Cathedral On C

His first LP 'Hamel' utilizes as eclectic a range in sound and instrumentation as his group Between. In the opening track we have wind that is followed by the xylophone and prepared piano which become the prominent elements in tracks 2 and 3. The title 'Storm Over Asia and Calm' probably being an homage to Hamel's extensive trips to Asia. Baliava 1 and 2, an interplay between xylophone and prepared piano demonstrate a sense of time that is patient and intimate. The sparse nature of these piece works, due in part to the excellent production, adequately capturing the lush overtones of the two instruments. The raw, tribal sense of rhythm is something I can imagine Mickey Hart of Grateful Dead fame would have really gotten a kick out of. It's a shame the two never collaborated, but I digress (as usual)....

In track 4, Hamel explores the wonders of the early synthesizer, multilayered with combinations of dissonant and melodic. Its title 'Fire of Holy Eyes' is suggestive of the beautiful LP cover. The composition does have some underlying elements of progression, but in terms of notation seems a bit aimless. Not that I really mind too much, because they are interesting sounds. I also dig the wordless vocals that come in later, instigating the holy "OM" vibration. The conjunction with dissonant notes is a bit strange and perhaps gets a tad bit in the way of a hypnotic transcendental state of mind. Another example of how Hamel's aesthetic sense perplexes me (I like being perplexed sometimes).


Songs of the Dolphins gives us some soothing field recordings of water combined with watery sounding synthesizers. A much more melodic and playful piece than the previous track, complete with synthetic 'dolphin' sounds. This very much reminds me of the sounds of Pete Namlook's Fax label, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was heavily inspired by Hamel's work. The resemblance in the sparse sense of time and space with magical abstract overtones is uncanny. Definitely one of my favorite tracks.

The epic 20 minute track Aura is a gorgeous proto-ambient piece, anticipatory of the sounds of Iasos 8 years later (another uncanny resemblance here). Here is where I eat my words regarding Hamel's lack of skill in melody (although I didn't want to suggest it was bad, just nothing special) for Aura is full of such beautiful harmonizations. A sustained trance-inducing synth pad overlaid by arpeggiations, reminiscent of rolling hills and mountains against a colorful horizon. By around the 8:30 mark we go into a darker territory. The clear skies are engulfed by a dark tempest complete with a synthetic wind. But through the mystic powers of divine magic, we come back to our clear horizons.

The second to last track is like a continuation of the synthetic organ sounds of Aura. It is perhaps his most compositionally dense, with few other distractions reminiscent of Klaus Schulze's 'Cyborg'. There's nothing I can really fault the track for, but I found it to be one of the more difficult pieces for me to get through, since Hamel's sense of notation doesn't move me all that much. There is a more linear, grid-like sense of rhythm unlike the intricacies of Baliava 1+2. The same goes for the closing track 'Cathedral On C', although the higher abundance of sustained drones in it make the piece more accessible for me. They don't seem like very well thought out compositions and I feel he should have either condensed these ideas or spent more time on a meaningful progression. At the same time, I feel bad for faulting anyone's sheer passion in their technology, and I can imagine how such an interest would compel someone to not mind these things as much (I'm sure there are some people out there would would enjoy 2 hours of randomly generated synth notes if it was technology they had a passion for). However, that passion doesn't seem to fully translate to the subjective ears of the listener (that being myself). BUT I digress. The album ends with the classic pitching down novelty that seems to have been popular in the 70s.

Did I mention how amazing the album art is?

Hamel's debut LP is a treat for the open minded listener who craves a sense of playful experimentation and diversity. His compositions are not dense, putting a direct emphasis on whatever elements that are currently being presented and wants the listener to meditate on their textures without distraction. The album also suggests an advanced technological ability, for the production is superb, but his sense of notation is nothing special (except maybe with Aura). I wouldn't call it an LP that ties together a theme so much as a collection of experiments. In any case, it's a worthy relic of an exciting time in proto-ambient avant-garde minimalism if you have the patience for it. Not something I would recommend to less devoted listeners unless they had those specific interests in mind. 7/10

EDIT: Upon further reflection, I feel like it's not my place to simply say "these are just a bunch of random notes, he is not very skilled in notation." because I understand what it's like as an artist to have meticulously put a lot of thought into a composition and get criticized for not putting in very much effort. I acknowledge that it's very well possible that Hamel invested plenty of personal meaning into tracks 8 and 9, but whatever meaning they might have had to the artist did not translate to my own understanding. This brings to mind arguments made by some modern classical composers like Iannis Xenakis who say that their compositions cannot fully be appreciated without understanding the math behind them. I would say that whether or not something that can't be absorbed without prior knowledge behind its logic is valid, is largely a matter of personal preference, and not necessarily something that I myself am opposed to. All I know is that, judging by my lack of further information behind the pieces, they didn't particularly grab me. I would like to be more careful in making such qualitative judgments about notation in the future. (03-25-16)