CAMERA

— First review of this album —

The Berlin-based Camera trio has never tried to hide their admiration for the classic motorik rhythms of Neu! and Harmonia. And in this year 2011 concert the band enjoyed an opportunity to legitimize that influence by playing alongside two legends from Krautrock's first generation: Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius.

The gig dates from around the time of Camera's debut studio album, but their guerrilla-style performances are better suited to a live setting, with a supportive audience to help feed the trio's improvisational energy. There's no real musical development over the length of these three extended instrumental jams, and none of the three tracks were given titles...inexplicably, in one instance (see below). But there's likewise no sign of aimless indulgence, either: all the players were obviously in sync throughout, musically and spiritually.

The show opens with a 21-minute, one-chord motorik groove in classic Neu! vernacular, allowing fans of that iconic band a vicarious hint of what the Dinger-Rother duo might have sounded like in concert (the "Neu! Live" album on their page in these Archives was a studio rehearsal, not an actual gig).

The second jam continues in the same direction, urgent and hypnotic, overlaid with oddball synthetic textures: a Dieter Moebius specialty. The Neu! parallels are even more obvious here, but never in a nostalgic or imitative way. Camera has never been a Krautrock tribute band; their music is as fresh and contemporary now as it would have been in 1972. For Michael Rother, the show must have felt like a homecoming.

The album's final track will sound familiar to veteran Krautheads: it's the classic "Neu! '75" anthem "Hero", played with a strutting authority equal to the original. Oddly, the album notes credit guest singer Shaun Mulrooney for the lyrics: an unfortunate insult to the memory of Klaus Dinger. Was there perhaps a legal reason for not acknowledging the song's actual author, who died in 2008?

Like too much new music these days, the album doesn't exist in any physical form. But the digital files are available for purchase directly from the Play Loud! Film and Music store, along with a video document of the same concert **. The latter was proudly "shot in one continuous 47-minute take", honoring the Krautrock and Camera traditions of underground spontaneity, but likely done for economic more than aesthetic reasons: the filmmakers had only a single camera.

The music, by itself and without the film as a visual aid, is only a two-dimensional facsimile, unable to fully capture the impact of the actual event. But the energy inside the small HBC club must have been electric, and I applaud the spirit of the Camera trio: young kids picking up and reigniting the counterculture torch at a time that really needs it.

[** consumer alert: this is entry #8 in the Play Loud! (live) Music Series, alongside similar releases by Faust, Guru Guru, Lydia Lunch, Damo Suzuki, and many others]

When recording their debut 'Radiate' in 2012 CAMERA made a step away from their roots, I mean the guerilla tactic, which originally manifested in spontaneous music happenings at secret places somewhere in the city respectively underground of Berlin. Quality gets around sooner or later, thus Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius took notice of them, this developed into some mutual gigs furthermore. And then the band left Berlin and went on tour across Europe. Just following this taken path their sophomore album called 'Remember I Was Carbon Dioxide' got on the table in 2014, released on Bureau B.

February the same year Franz Bargmann suddenly left the band due to personal reasons. They were reduced to a duo then, but Timm Brockmann and Michael Drummer (yes, no misspelling here!) went the pragmatic way and both took over the guitar task. While the general approach hasn't changed really music-wise, this time a few other musicians are guesting on the recordings to provide a more comprehensive sound. A little bit Electric Orange mooded Parhelion is on the way to reach for a highlight position the more I'm coming back to this album.

The twelve songs are picking up the spirit of Can, Kraftwerk, Neu by nature, that's for sure. Nowadays you have to search for bands with such an approach and abilities concerning the workout. When comparing with their debut this is more varied and unique overall. Which means spacey, ambient moments, motoric rhythms as usual, but also including tribal percussion, the saxophone and vocals this time. I would not call this spectacular, but what I hear is a proper effort with room for experimentation anyhow, which sums it up to 3.5 stars.

CAMERA is a young German band who have compiled an album that consists of songs that are on the one hand dark and experimental soundscapes and on the other hand songs that have that Motorik beat ala NEU!, LA DUSSELDORF and HARMONIA. I do prefer those dark soundscapes but man this is such a good idea contrasting these two different styles of Krautrock.

"From The Outside" opens with a spacey atmosphere before a beat joins in. Man this sounds so good. The guitar is gently played over top. Nice. Distorted guitar before 3 1/2 minutes and it's interesting how the distorted guitar brings to mind the psychedelic period of PORCUPINE TREE. I like it! A top four track. "Parhelion" has this steady beat and deep distorted sounds as it builds. So catchy! Love the dissonant sax and distorted guitar on this track. "Synchron" really reminds me of LA DUSSELDORF, NEU! and HARMONIA along with the modern Krautrock band SIINA. That steady beat with light keys, distorted guitar lines and more.

"Roehre" like the previous track has that motorik beat leading the way. Lots of pulsating sounds in this uptempo track. Love the guitar late. "4 PM" has this haunting soundscape with unusual sounds. It starts to build before 1 1/2 minutes, so cool. A slow beat with a dark sound takes over and the keys and guitar become more prominent later. A top four track. "Haeata" is a short song with tribal-like drumming, pulsating sounds and guitar expressions. "Ozymandias" is another dark and experimental soundscape. Love this stuff, so much atmosphere here. "To The Inside" is a top four track for me as well. Insane drum work early on with distorted guitars. It settles back as female spoken words join in. I wish this one was longer.

"2 AM" opens with atmosphere, cymbals and someone yelling in the background before a motorik beat kicks in. Check out the distortion 3 1/2 minutes in. "Trophaee" has uptempo drumming with plenty of atmosphere as male spoken words arrive, guitar too. The sound of running water ends it. "Vortices" is my final top four and it features acoustic guitar early on as the atmosphere comes in and dominates. A beat comes out of the haze as fuzzed out guitar cries out. It turns very spacey late. "Hallraum" has this pulsating rhythm with lighter sounding guitar and keys over top. The guitar turns more passionate and distorted later.

This album has been a pleasure to listen to and the way they contrast the two different styles really works here. 4.5 stars.

Neo Krautrock Guerilla ... Attention Please

This is not a joke ... if you're going to visit Berlin someday, please be highly attentive, maybe somewhere you'll be faced with a trio performing (legal or illegal) gigs in places like underpasses, railway stations, public toilets, obscure exhibitions, or similar. And if you should detect that the combo's name is CAMERA along with it ... then you know, radical krautrockers they are, underway with the ambitious approach to make this music style public at all costs. Being more than an insiders' tip in the meanwhile they already have been supported by Michael Rother and Dieter Moebius on several occasions, as they both are fascinated by the band's mechanical backbone among other things.

Initially formed without any intention of composing or recording the like of songs, there was nothing more than the idea to act from the underground exclusively. Step by step though the request manifested to develop an own abum. And finally here we are ... 'Radiate!' basically shows Franz Bargmann (guitar), Timm Brockmann (keyboard) and Michael Drummer (drums) walking in line with their peers from the 1970's. However certainly also outfitted with the purpose to sound kinda different. That means alongside with their fellow countrymen Electric Orange or Killflavour for instance, they are old school in some way but also try to bring something new to the table.

The first songs are explicitly offering a motoric Klaus Dinger drive, E-Go and Ausland for example are getting very close to the Neu! and early Kraftwerk style, where the guitar however serves a significant spacey ambiance overall. The extended gripping Lynch comes way more unique then and convinces me completely while excellently meandering, floating, decorated with a mysterious plaintive and sawing guitar. So they turn into a very melancholic direction continued by Utopia Is - full of atmosphere - which evolves into a hypnotic groove again after a while.

RFID is another wonderful melodic and tension-filled track and proves that they gradually open up forward to a distinguishable style. The dramatic Soldat has a slight agressive undertone - a well appointed title consequently. Well done, a really enjoyable album, that's my summary after some listening sessions now. If anything, there is less copy-cat attitude to state in my opinion. Krautrock lovers should pay attention - a new promising band to keep an eye on.