Deuter - 1971 - D

Before Geog Deuter's reputation as a New Age ambient guru, he made an album quite unlike anything else. 'D' is an adventurous project, consisting of a variety of different experiments from ambient soundscapes to psychedelic guitar drones. Thankfully the recent re-pressings make this gem not so difficult to find, initially released on Kuckuck and later remastered in 2009 by Missing Vinyl and again in 2010 by Esoteric Reactive.

1. Babylon
     i. Andantino
     ii. Allegro 138 A
     iii. Andante
     iv. Allegro 138 B
2. Der Turm / Fluchtpunkt
3. Krishna Eating Fish and Chips
4. Atlantis
5. Grammastrahlen-Lamm

The album starts with an epic 15 minute piece in four sections that is very guitar intensive, going through a wide array of dazzling riffs and drones, with an exotic upbeat Middle Eastern in part four. Already Deuter demonstrates his wide ranging multi-instrumental abilities and a proficiency for modern cutting edge technology of the time period. He uses an impressive amount of layering that is very well mixed. Der Turm / Fluchtpunkt consists of some noisier guitar jam experiments accompanied by hand drums.

Krishna Eating Fish and Chips is a captivating and hypnotic sitar piece and manages to adequately hold my attention while clocking in at just over 10 minutes. Not only is Deuter impressive in his multi-instrumental variety, but also in his use of both dense and stripped down compositions layering wise. Atlantis is a more computer focused soundscape, with all kinds of trippy reversed audio effects, and a haunting synth amidst a watery, bubbly seascape. It is a delightful and effortless combination of both organic and electronic elements that makes this track so immersive and possibly the highlight (for me) of the whole LP. Truly a composition like none other. The album ends with a satisfying ambient synthscape that is so pleasant sounding yet tinged with haunted whisperings.

It's not often one finds an LP so adventurous and fearless, with a proficiency in multi-instrumentation and cutting edge electronic technology, resulting in such a well balanced magnum opus to the human imagination. 9/10

Sand - 1974 - Ultrasonic Seraphim (1996 RE)

There is a wonderful story behind the release of this double disc album, courtesy of the efforts of David Tibet and Steven Stapleton who distributed a collection of works from Sand on their United Durto label, including their 'Golem' LP from 1974 which had extremely limited pressings. The full story is recollected in way better detail than I could ever do on Nurse With Wound's Brainwashed page here.

Disc 1

(Golem)
1. Helicopter
2. Old Loggerhead
3. May Rain
4. On the Corner
5. Sarah
     I. Passacaille
     II. Per Aspera Ad Astra

6. Vulture I

(Born at Dawn)

7. Doncha Feel
8. Moonlightlove
9. Burning House

10. Vulture II

Disc 2

1. May Rain I
2. Desert Storm
3. Sarah (Alternate Version)
4. Power Station
5. Old Loggerhead (Alternate Version)
6. Helicopter (Alternate Version)
7. May Rain II

In-Depth Analysis

Sand is a trio, consisting of Johannes Vester on synth/vocals, Ludwig Papenberg on guitar and organ, and Ulrich Papenberg on bass.


Original cover of 'Golem'

One thing I like about so much krautrock is the sense of space. The fearless abandonment in droning and repetition. Sand is one of the best examples of this I've heard, the extend of what a relatively conventional-pieced band is capable of doing with minimalism. The result from Sand is the most surreal, immersive soundscapes. Songs that move you even though you can't remember any particular part to it (or maybe I should just lay off the weed). Provocative but without hook, and limited rhythmical structure. The interesting and unique thing about Sand is all the guitar layering, and the variety of purposes each layer serves, often as a percussive instrument. I also love the howling soundscapes, presumably done with the synth.

So many wonderful noises in this album. Trippy synth drones on May Rain, accompanied by Vester's phenomenal and haunting vocals. I want to also mention that even within Sand's minimalist style, there's a variety of different kinds of minimalism explore; different structures and elements.

Some of the tracks after Golem are great too. 'Vulture I' has some lovely synth/bass dronings. Also really dig the first track of Born at Dawn, 'Doncha Feel' which sounds like a psychedelic Irish folk song. Up to now, all the whole comp is very unique and one of a kind, but 'Moonlightlove' comes off to me as somewhat more conventional (not necessarily a bad thing but not really my cup of tea) ballad type composition. The use of regular piano is proficient but uninspiring. More great psychedelic folk in 'Burning House' though.

In 'Vulture II' we get a more intensive exploration of the synth/bass dronings previously heard in 'Vulture I.' Fantastic song, and adds to the wide variety of minimalism explored by this band.

The first track on disc two has a more stripped down, less muddy acoustic version of 'May Rain'. Also a generally more disciplined vocal take, although I do like the roughness of the muddier May Rain. Beautiful short little 2 minute piece.

Some of these songs have been less well preserved than others, so the apparent line-level hiss in 'Desert Storm' is not surprising. The notes on the Discogs page stated 'All other Sand material is taken from cassettes and 1/4" master tapes' so maybe this was from a cassette. In any case it's a great, raw sounding jam. Nothing exceptionally different from the other tracks but still somehow memorable. Maybe in its use of hand drums and the "arabic" type melodies.

This alternate version of Sarash is somewhat more minimal than the first, with less crazy noises and more drones in the first track. The emotion and atmosphere of the first half, with haunted vocals almost reminiscent of Ohgr from Skinny Puppy. The other section has intricate acoustic guitar that is accented by the bass. It's an absolutely gorgeous song and easily one of my favorite, if not most favorite tracks on this compilation.

'Power Station' is the longest track on the whole compilation and possibly the most far out and least accessible, in regards to its repetition. It by no means makes it any less good though, but it required slightly more patience. Some really awesome guitar and synth noises especially in the last third of it. The alternate versions of 'Loggerhead' and 'Helicoptor' are similar in their jammed out quality. If you don't mind lots of minimalism they are a very good 3 last tracks.