MICHAEL HOENIG

I played it as I wrote this review and my opinion of it hasn't changed. I rate this album a 3.5 rounded to a 4 as it is enjoyable but if I'm in the mood for this type of music, I usually reach for Tangerine Dream.

"Departure From The Northern Wasteland" opens in a haunting manner and spacey winds arrive briefly before a minute. What I love about Electronic music is that you can use your imagination while laying on your bed for example with the lights out and headphones on. It starts to pick up and brighten then it kicks in after 2 1/2 minutes with that electronic beat along with those spacey synths. This is a side long suite clocking in at almost 21 minutes as the music shifts and changes in a reserved manner. It calms right down 17 minutes in, then the electronic beat stops.

"Hanging Garden Tranfer" opens with two different electronic beats that pulse deeply. A much fuller sound arrives before 2 minutes. Lots to focus on here as the sounds weave in and around each other. It settles back before 3 1/2 minutes. It's fuller again before 7 minutes but not for long. "Voices Of Where" opens in a laid back manner as sounds drone like they aren't in any hurry. I like this and it continues for about 5 minutes. Some twittering before 5 minutes then voices come in as the sound changes. Voices only before 6 minutes to end it. "Sun And Moon" kicks in with a melodic electronic beat quickly as synths come in over top. This really is like the sun coming up, like they have arrived at their destination. Brighter and happier.

I'm so glad I was able to get my hands on this on this one. Easily 4 stars.

Side two opens with the similar "Hanging Garden Transfer", also built on an arpeggiated sequencer riff, but the mood has a greater tension, more urgency than before. "Voices of Where" has several minutes of rhythm-less drone, gradually replaced by a mass of chanting voices. A fairly disposable track. But the final track is really something else - "Sun and Moon", a brief 4 minute number that, though built on the same basic template as the other sequencer pieces, actually has the feel of a song with a verse/chorus format. I don't recall Tangerine Dream doing much of that kind of thing by 1978. It's a lovely melodic piece with a lead organ sounding akin to an oboe, a very nice touch.

For personal reasons, this is my "go-to" electronic album. Other reviewers have correctly pointed out that there's nothing really new going on here (though I might challenge them to show me another example of a short piece like "Sun and Moon"), and that other more accomplished artists had already done the same thing better. But it has a long history with me personally, and even today with the benefit of a greater familiarity with electronic music, I still think of it as a highly enjoyable, very accessible example of its genre. It's highly melodic, fairly simple, and has plenty of atmosphere. I have no issue recommending it highly to anyone interested in 1970s electronic music - it's not too challenging, but not everything great needs to be.

It's all here: the sequencer patterns; the haphazard soloing; the gentle washes of Mellotron; even the occasional stray guitar riff...every element mechanically reproduced not only in the same cosmetic style but apparently using identical instruments and settings. I can only imagine Edgar Froese shaking his burly head and (hopefully) regarding the effort as a really sincere form of flattery (rather than grounds for litigation).

On a purely superficial level the results are not unpleasant, but at no point does the album show even a trace of the uncanny magic of its obvious role models. Programming a sequencer will always be a lazy way to compose music, but in the hands of an innovator like Froese, Chris Franke, or (maybe especially) Klaus Schulze the results can be stunning. Unlike the rudimentary arpeggios heard on this disc.

And Hoenig was never too comfortable with improvisation, apparently needing endless weeks of rehearsal before stepping foot on stage or in a recording studio. That lack of spontaneity previously capsized a planned collaboration with Klaus Schulze (the duo was to be named Timewind; see the biography on the KS website for details), and the same deliberation had pretty much the same effect on Hoenig's debut solo album as well.

Half a decade earlier it might have left a deeper impression. But by 1978 the so-called Berlin School of electronic music had already begun to lapse into predictable formulas, and this album only hastened the process. I don't mean to sound entirely flippant here, but when you separate the Dream from the Tangerine what's left is only a bowl of fruit, easily spoiled.

The cover art, however, is lovely, and arguably worth owning all by itself.

Departure From the Northern Wasteland is purely and electronic album of the highest caliber, but the way the longer compositions flow is leaned heavily into the way that bands like Genesis and Renaissance progress in their own songs. Adding to the rock without rock instruments tone to this album is the very immediate and demanding sound of the dynamic synth basslines that sound somewhat organic (though still very obviously synthetic).

The title track, at just over 20 minutes, is the headpiece of the album and is delightfully progressive. Where some Berlin school style long form compositions can sound very convoluted after the first few minutes, this track adds many layers atop one another but still maintains an open area to rest the ears. The atmosphere is very dark like setting off on a long voyage during a day with a dark gray overcast of clouds with thunder rumbling in the distance. The sound of this entire album is rather earthbound than most Berlin school style albums. "Hanging Garden Transfer" follows in the same atmosphere, but has much more urgency to it.

"Voices of Where", though one of the two shorter tracks on this album, is very beautiful. It's very light an airy with a light wavering sound that you'd expect from a mellotron. Because of this, it sounds similar to the short bursts of beauty found on the interludes on various Genesis albums. "Sun and Moon" ends the album on another bass driven Berlin school style track with a slight feeling of accomplishment and hopefulness.

Departure From the Northern Wasteland is one of the most interesting and compelling progressive electronic albums that I've heard from an artist that has remained mostly obscured. Anyone interested in this genre should take out some time to experience this album; I assure you that your efforts will not be wasted, especially if you're already a fan of ethereal symphonic prog.

Even though my record collection back then included albums by Yes, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Crack the Sky, and even Vangelis, I was not yet a self-acknowledged prog-head. I listened to the promo once when it arrived, had a neutral opinion of it, and added it to my stack of 45s, where it remained neglected for decades.

When I finally listened to it again, as a fully-fledged prog-head, I was extremely impressed. The record had two excerpts from the title track, and excerpts from "Hanging Garden Transfer" and "Sun and Moon". It prompted me to buy the LP, which I finally found in a used record store. Upon listening to the LP, I was astounded.

The track "Voices of Where" prevents this album from achieving 5-star status. I think it was no accident that the promo omitted an excerpt from this song. The odd vocals at the end are very out of place. But that is the only negative comment I have about this album.

The music is beautiful, relaxing, and timeless. It captures the imagination. I echo my roommate's advice from long ago ? you will not be disappointed.

The title track is undoubtly the highlight of the disc. Perfectly sequenced, synthetizers' themes evolve slowly and superposing mellotron waves reveal magic and crystalline landscapes. The song fades away softly during its final part. The tune could have well figured on a Tangerine Dream release. The next track, Hanging Garden Transfer, displays a much faster, colder and more robotic sound. There are truely very trippy and catchy passages in it. Voices Of Where arrives as a surprise, as it features no rythm and hardly no sequencing at all, mainly mellotron and backing vocals. The tune is relaxing but is also the weakest of the album, as it tends to be repetitive by moments. This is easily catched up with the ending track, Sun And Moon, which brings the sequencer back. It is at first glance reminiscent of Ashra's New Age Of Earth. Then keyboards become more energic to offer a quite enchanting and spacey futuristic conclusion.

Not terrificly new but very inspired, Departure From The Northern Wasteland is quite similar to the albums from the classic Tangerine Dream line up with Baumann. It was released the same year the band tried to change their sound, to create something else. However, this album proves that Michael Hoenig can rank among the best electronic progressive german musicians. It's a pity he hadn't recorded more albums (the next one, Xcept One, is rather deceiving). Highly recommended to TD fans !

The record opens with the title track, which starts good, but become quickly repetitive and uninspired. Bones on the Beach is one of two worthy passages here, with its mysterious atmosphere, its pulsing keyboard and its catchy melody, in the vein of Tangerine Dream's Underwater Sunlight's songs. The calm comes back with the small ambient piece Forgotten Thoughs, which is not bad, but not good either, in fact not very original for the late 80s. The next track, Scatter part I, is the most dated, repetitive and irritating of the disc. The minimalist composer Harold Budd participated to the composition of Spectral Gong. The result is a quite relaxing tune. Again, anjoyable, but not terribly new. The album concludes with its other worthy moment, Scatter Part II, undoubtly better than Part I. This fun theme could have well been used for a video game.

With Xcept One, Michael Hoenig delivers an album containing hardly half good and half bad electronic songs. Better go with Departure From The Northern Wasteland, far more enchanting and far less dated... 2,5 stars