MUSIK VON HARMONIA

I had my eureka moment with it on headphones in the dark and marvelled at the depth of sounds and at how sci-fi it came across. Compared to a lot of soundscapes from this last decade Musik von Harmonia sounds organic and fresh, yet oozes futurism.

Here a track-by-track:

Watussi - 6

An interesting beginning: mid-paced hypnotic bleepy synth loops over a nonchalant beat. After repeated listens however it doesn't reveal too much more depth.

Sehr kosmisch - 10

Wow, the stand-out track. The sense of space is immense: there is much epic action in the galaxy and you are floating through it on a stream of consciousness. That might sound passé or cliched but it's what I feel when this plays.

Sonnenschein - 8

This sounds like a livelier Watussi. After almost a minute the trance kicks in with militant beats and infectious synth licks. Sonnenschein has shades of psychedelic techno about it.

Dino - 9

So positive somehow this one. An upbeat pace with some gorgeous guitar. Dino doesn't have much depth but it has a lot of good feeling.

Ohrwurm - 5

I still don't get this one. A dark and slow rhythmless amble into a place too far out for me to see. All I know is if that's what a worm sounds like when its in your ear then I don't want one in my ear.

Ahoi! - 9

And Ahoi there! this track seems to shout towards its end when we get an extra octave of harmonics to complement the looping hypnotisms and changing delays crescending for us after the soft and warm ambient introduction of hopeful synth pads.

Veterano - 7

More emphasis on techno rhythms here. It runs along nicely without ever threatening to trip over and out. I think it would have worked better with just the beats and some low-octave sounds, losing the high notes which lend Veterano a wishy-washy feel it doesn't really need to have.

Hausmusik - 5

Very different to the 7 pieces that went before. It has some percussive goings-on and a long lead line on wah-wah which are interesting but the Jeff Mills-esque synth-koto play is, like the note-play on the song before it, more off-putting than hypnotic.

So in conclusion I can heartily recommend this album for lovers of tripped-out journeys. An education in techno and trance-dance might help first. Being older and more boring than I used to be I have only listened to this with a straight head but I can happily wager that Musik von Harmonia has much meat in it for those post-rave 'let's chill at mine' moments.