PETE NAMLOOK & K. SCHULZE: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOG II

"A saucerful of Ambience"

The first half hour of this one hour long ambient track will probably send you off to a comforting sleep. However, if you manage to survive them or - since the cd is nicely split into 5.00 minute 'tracks' - skip to part VI right away, you will get treated to really amazing ambient music.

Parts I - V contain nothing but sound. While it might create an interesting soundtrack for your Helloween parties, it's not much of an alluring listen. It's literally ambient, background, atmosphere, sound. A good 25 minutes into the sonic tapestries, Part VI introduces some hesitant synth melodies that gradually evolve into a sumptuous texture of warm sounds and minor chords. Part VIII - IX get a short beat and techno synth sequence going. Schulze adds his washes of analogue synths again on Part X and Part XI brings the beat back. Part XII rounds off with the sound experimentations from the first half hour.

I'm not a convinced Namlook fan (yet?) and I don't like much of what Schulze has been doing in the years preceding this cooperation, but the combination of the two masters brings out some of the best in both. Not entirely convincing yet but a step up from the previous album and recommended listening for Namlook and Schulze fans.

Second leg of these dark sides of the moog?Huuum!!!

As Bonnek accordingly mentioned, the first half an hour of this piece of music is quite ? silent. Some rain forest atmospheres with noises from potential animals, a few bells ringing in the background and that's about it. Nothing fabulous as you can imagine.

The man has used us to long developments and when I listen to the fantastic "Timewind" which holds three wonderful epics, I am just delighted. To be honest, I don't have the same feel while listening to this "Saucerful Of Ambience" although it delivers ? ambience (but only ambience for quite a while).

Little movement or changes: the same background keys seem to operate indefinitely. And it is pretty long. Minimalism to the bones. This would be a perfect soundtrack for a documentary about the Amazon, the wonderful jungle in Costa Rica or such beautiful place as Malaysia but to remain concentrated on this work from start to finish to post a commented review of the whole is quite an exercise.! And I have quite been in love with the music of the great man.

A new theme (!) starts at minute twenty seven or so: some "dynamics" at last! Good synth exercise, or warming up. A sort of a preparation for the sublime which starts after thirty minutes. The reward of your (long) patience.

Wonderful atmo (strato?) sphere. Delightful beauty. Orgasmic heaven. You name it! Just as during the first leg of this long "Dark Side?", this one features brilliant parts again. More than the first leg; and so charming, passionate. It flows like a tranquil river with little bustle: an organic musical passion.

This heavenly moments end up at minute forty; when time comes for these dance beats which I can't promote. Fortunately, they only last for three minutes and give precedence to spacey and wonderful lines again. I can only regret some incoherencies which lead to a lesser rating.

I am rating this album with the same total as the first part of this "Moog" stuff: three stars. Too many average parts vs. great ones. Only nine to go.

As the previous volume of Dark Side Of The Moog, the album contains a single suite divided on the CD into segments of about 5 minutes each, regardless the contents. Also, as the previuos one, the connection with Pink Floyd, other than in the titles, seems to be limited to the studio disc of Ummagumma (which is not a bad thing).

It starts very dark, with a sort of "chirp" sound looped to the infinity. A deep bell sound enters after about 3 minutes and we have to wait three more minutes for a sort of cuckoo to be added. Then several sounds come and go. Described in this way, it may seem extremely boring, but I think it's mainly hypnotic. Pure Berlin school, and way better than the usually nowhere-going suites of Phrozenlight. Closing my eyes I can see a dark foggy wood, like in a horror movie. Small furry animals are now running free out of their cave. When the bell stops 15 minutes are already gone. Now only the animals remain.

More than 20 minutes are gone when a sound mimic of a sea shore enters. Now this "saucerful of ambience" is more alien. I don't know how to interpret the sound similar to a fart that is repeated at irregular time intervals. What is it really about?

Water now. Raindrops falling, distant thunders, what I've heard up to now, gives me a sensation of a cold, dark and wet place. So, after 27 minutes of this soundscape, the first proper notes can be heard. A little melody overrides the storm and gives a sensation of relax. It's not staying home warming by a fire, but the atmosphere is very different from before. It makes me think to the Vangelis soundtracks for Philip Rossif.

The melody developes slowly, sliding on minor chords with some little dissonances here and there. Electronic sound and beeps are still present, fart included, but now the stage is all for the keyboard minor chords. The background souns are slowly transformed into a rhythmic section. Different from Nick Mason's famous drum riff on Saucerful of Secrets but similar.

so, after 43 minutes, the melody stops and we have a drone percussion solo lasting until minute 44 when...surprise!!! a 4/4 techno part which would fit perfectly into a rave party. Why? Because they (Schulze and Namlook) liked it that way, I guess. Do I like it? Kpnestly, if it was on air, I would have changed station, but let's see where it goes...

The disco rhythm is smoothly overriden by the return of the organ minor chords with just a hint of percussion that takes longer to disappear. F minor to C minor basically. Thinking to the suite title, I think the connection with Pink Floyd's Saucerful of secrets is in the structure: a first movement made of electronic noises, sort of concrete music, followed by a movement based mainly on percussion and a final movement more melodic, even considering the return of the percussion which reappear after 1 hour.

Then we see the return of all those elements together, 4/4 rave rhythm included. Last, there's a regression to the initial foggy dark and wet wood to close the circle.

I have enjoyed parts of this suite, but not in its entirety. The disco part appears to be outplaced and meaningless inside the rest of the suite and parts of it could have been shortened a bit.

I could suggest it only to listeners really addicted to these soundscapes.