KOSMISCHER LÄUFER

KOPIE! no way more than 3 stars just on principle and integrity This is lovely stuff but it is so much imitation as to be a bit eyebrow raising....Put it this way, if any of these Krautrock bands and songs were hits originally and made money, they would sue this artist for plagiarism to get paid. He is basically doing his take of Neu! and Autobahn by Kraftwerk. There is a YouTubist that does quick three minutes videos like "how to write a Cure or Smiths song" in 30 seconds and gives a lovely and funny demonstration of the parts needed. This feels like that. That said, I find the pastiche to be well produced and very lovely. So, if you don't care where your Kraftwerk or Neu! come from, this cover band is better than most! The production is impeccable. I guess one could call these original songs, but literally for example if a Neu! or TD song had sections 1-2-3 just copy them nearly exactly and then change the order to 3-1-2, that type of thing. Nothing original here but it does speak to the beauty of the original works quite nicely. I was almost fooled at first then got to thinking no way the DDR music was this good or they would not have failed as a society. Keep in mind this is a modern side project whereby the artist pretended to "discover" old archival tapes of music used to train the minds of the East German Olympic teams back in the 70s, but that is all just made-up.

Zeit zum eine Plattenrezension Schreiben! After repeat listening, this one just gets better and better. Volume 5 of The Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program 1972-83 is about as solid as an album can be. And while every KL release is a "concept album," this one has something special: The first appearance of Martin Zeichnete's non-Olympic compositions.

Every KL collection has its standouts, some more than others, and this album has several that would easily make any best-of list of this act's decade of cosmic transmissions. "Der kosmische Strahl," "Südlicht" and "Die stille Sonne (Teil 2)" are downright unforgettable, and the middle-floydian synths of "Die stille Sonne (Teil 1)" are a treat. The cool-down of "Im Herzen des Universums" (in the heart of the universe) provides both soothing close for side 1, and ties that program together with the astronomically-themed second side. And that's a great part of the magic of Volume 5 - its cohesiveness, its integrity as a capital-A Album.

The liner notes treat us to an expansion of the legend ( or is it history?) of Martin Zeichnete. After long hours of working for the glory of the DDR, Martin, we're told, would wait for when his bosses packed it in for the night and, freed from their watchful gaze, steal some precious studio time to indulge in personal projects.

The second side of the LP is a suite of pieces Martin composed as a showcase for his love of astronomy. The pieces are selected from all over the KL timeline, from 1973 to 1982, but are united by their theme: Years of the Quiet Sun (the 11-year sunspot cycle our sun experiences). So while the first side of the album is a by-now-familar running program united by the tracks' beats-per-minute, for the second program we have a unique look into Martin's soul. Of course it is up to the listener to decide whether that soul belongs to a talented musician/composer or is itself the creation of another, different talented musician/composer.

Ya can't get much more Prog than that.

Kosmischer Läufer is a new twist on the retro concept - pretending to come from the past while mimicking a pioneering musical style. The three albums released by this artist are (actually superb) recreations of the early 1970's music of Neu!, Kraftwerk and Cluster. For myself, there just wasn't enough of the 'motorik' genre produced historically, so I applaud this impressive hoax.

The story on the band's website is that the music was created by 'Martin Zeichnete', an East German contemporary of the above bands, who produced it for the secret Olympic training programme of the DDR. The tapes were eventually recovered and released by the vendor company, Unknown Capability Recordings.

The high production quality of these recordings makes a DDR origin implausible for anyone who made even the briefest visit to that state. (I can claim, at least, to have ridden in a Wartburg vehicle.) And the regular album release programme, with musical development from one album to another, tells you this is a modern artist.

But never mind that, this music is very pleasant and creative. Volume Two is my favourite of the releases so far, but all are genuinely recommended to motorik fans.

Verdict: zum Spass.