Fruits De Mer Records "Strange Fish" series, volumes 1-4

Fruits De Mer Records "Strange Fish" collection are an adventurous series of albums of instrumental music inspired by krautrock/kosmische, classic and new progressive rock, drone, sequencer/synthesiser, psychedelia, and more, performed by artists who followers of Fruits De Mer Records may already know plus several who are appearing here on vinyl for the first time.

STRANGE FISH 1
A1: Craig Padilla - Full Moon World
A2: Craig Padilla - Secret Language
B1: Sendelica - Strange Fish

Strange Fish 1 is split between two artists, Craig Padilla from the USA and Sendelica from south west Wales, and contains only three - but lengthy - pieces. On side one Craig Padilla's "Full Moon World" (a track from 2005, I notice) starts quietly with something of a Gong-vibe to it with spacey synth sounds and a sub-bass under arpeggiated synths and a plaintive synth melody creating a very dreamy atmosphere. Halfway through things speed up with some minimalistic Kraftwerkian electronic percussion and ever-more complex and intertwining melodies. "Secret Language", recorded five years later by Craig Padilla and cohort Bert Hawkins (credited with "strange analog synth sounds"), feels more cinematic with a bass drone and spacey sounds panning across the stereo spectrum and having an ambient Jean-Michel Jarre vibe. There are lots of bubbly synths and pads, and again - halfway through - things change as a counter rhythm sequence is introduced.

Side two contains a side-long single piece by Sendelica which was almost certainly re-titled for inclusion in this series of albums. "Strange Fish" adds guitars and bass to the synthy whooshes and spacey sounds. After a weird intro in which a riff is gradually slowed down, a spooky atmosphere is introduced with Western-style guitar strums and a ghostly voice-like synth drifting in and out of the mix and sheets of white noise. It's a few minutes before the track truly takes off with a rapid repetitive bass riff providing some foundation, over which unexpectedly a saxophone appears. The main theme fades and the track continues with octaved bass and minimalistic guitar responses evolving into a new riff over which a heavily effected trumpet and Kraftwerkian "geiger counter" herald the arrival of some acoustic (or acoustic-sounding) guitar taking us into the piece's final phase, and finally fading out with the sound of kids playing in a playground. All in all, a very interesting piece, although perhaps not as coherent as Padilla's more formulaic pieces on the other side of the record.

STRANGE FISH 2
A1: Moonweevil - Condentia
A2: Vespero - Red Machine
A3: Organic Is Orgasmic - At Dawn Of Men
B1: Sendelica - 80% Neon Bridge Of Sighs
B2: Temple Music - From The Serene Republic
B3: The Grand Astoria - Space Orchid vs Massive Drumkit
C1: Cat Frequency - The Fragmentation of St. Veronica's Veil
C2: Julie's Haircut - Tarazed
C3: Julie's Haircut - Asioli (recorded with Valerio Cosi & Tiziano Bianchi)
C4: Weevil dropping
D1: Mechanik - Kwangmyongsong
D2: Mechanik - Radian
D3: Mechanik - You Yourself Are The Teacher And The Guru

Strange Fish 2 is a double album containing 13 tracks from nine artists from the UK (Moonweevil, Sendelica, Temple Music, The Cat Frequency), Italy (Julie's Haircut), Spain (Mechanik) and Russia (Vespero, Organic Is Orgasmic, The Grand Astoria). Side one kicks off with a very brief piece from Moonweevil which I can only liken to Monty Python's "Silly Noises". Track two is by Vespero, who we last heard reinterpreting Faust's "Jennifer" on one side of the Fruits De Mer Annual 2013 EP. With "Red Machine" we are treated to hypnotic Eastern rhythms, melancholic violin-like melodies, arpeggiators and space synth sounds augmented by the restrained sax and upbeat drums. Finishing with an almost Bloomdido Bad de Grasse-esque sax, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a Gong out-take. Side one finishes with Organic Is Orgasmic's 12-minute plus "At Dawn Of Men" with starts gently with strings, synth and guitar overlaid with a sax melody before drums and bass join and really get things going. The guitar textures remind me of Andy Summers, this could almost be a Police instrumental (and that is meant in a good way).

Sendelica return on side two with "80% Neon Bridge Of Sighs", a track recorded in Stockport - I'm guessing at a live performance. It certainly has that live energy to it and also benefits from the addition of drums to the line-up, something that was conspicuous by their absence on the side-long piece on Strange Fish 1. The piece also features snippets of conversation; I can't help wondering if the audience was miked up? Next up is Temple Music, who previously magnificently re-interpreted The Hollies' "Pegasus" on the other side of the Fruits De Mer Annual 2013 EP that I have already mentioned. "From The Serene Republic" is a strident up-tempo guitar, bass and drum (machine?) piece with guitar synth melodies and that trademark krautrock motorik driving rhythm. Finally on this disc, The Grand Astoria's eccentrically named "Space Orchid vs Massive Drumkit" sees a more "earthy" hippy-esque sound with acoustic guitars and sitar over a fluid bass and drums. An electric guitar riff asserts itself in the latter part of the song, the drums up the tempo and we are treated to a synth solo.

Onto side three (or record 2, side 1, if you prefer) which begins with The Cat Frequency's "The Fragmentation of St. Veronica's Veil". The organ/synth(?) drone at the beginning of the track possibly outstays its welcome as the listener is left waiting for the piece to actually "begin". Thankfully an arpeggiated synth arrives and is soon followed by some lead guitar wrangling, but the whole thing is too ponderous and you're left thinking that not only does the track not seen to get started but that it doesn't go anywhere either. The next two songs are by Julie's Haircut (an unusual name for an Italian band). "Tarazed" has a gentle fairytale quality to begin with but then the bassline starts, the drums kick in and a hypnotic groove develops. We are even treated to some vocals (yes, on an instrumental compilation!) in the form of wordless "Aaaaahhhh"s. Having listened to several sides of purely instrumental vinyl already, the human voice is most welcome! "Asioli" has a very avant garde piano-led intro with percussion. Again, a bassline kicks in and establishes a groove behind the keys. Vocals, sax, trumpet, and heavily effected guitars drift into the mix creating rich layers of sound. Faster drums and a counter-bassline create a greater sense of urgency towards the finish as things build up to a crescendo. Finally, side three closes with a very brief piece listed only as "Weevil dropping" which I assume is Moonweevil once again with more weird sounds and "silly noises", which - if you are not careful - could go on for ever, so watch out for that locked groove at the end of this side.

Side four (or record 2, side 2) is devoted to the Spanish band Mechanik. "Kwangmyongsong" consists of a bass and drum groove overlaid with guitar echo effects, synths, electronics, etc, and has echoes of Neu! perhaps. The guitar track develops and intensifies the melody before the whole thing ends with various spacey and electronic sound effects. "Radian" starts meekly with bass and guitars in an almost imperceptible melody but grows in intensity and builds up a sense of foreboding of what might happen next. It's very cinematic in feel with excellent use of loops and multiple echoes. Finally, "You Yourself Are The Teacher And The Guru" makes use of radio/TV cut-ups and delayed/looped guitars, with solid repetitive bass and drums providing a backbone onto which to hang all the echoes on. Again, the track builds in intensity, rises to a climax and falls away into echoes and EBow guitars - and a final droned note - which again could go on indefinitely thanks to the locked groove ending this side of vinyl.

STRANGE FISH 3
A1: Palace of Swords - Live At The Aberdeen Witch Trials 1597
A2: Zenith: Unto The Stars - Gemini
A3: Earthling Society - Theme From A Vampire's Kiss
A4: Earthling Society - The Dream
A5: Earthling Society - Kiss Of The Vampire - Morning Glory
A5: Palace of Swords - Vicus Lemurum
B1: Dead Pylons - Theme From The Dead Pylons
B2: Dead Pylons - Osiris
B3: Dead Pylons - Dream Cargoes
B4: The Golden Cake Company - Thrum Mystique
B5: Palace of Swords - The Temple Of Golden Rays
C1: The Golden Cake Company - Arthurian
C2: Vert:x - A Floating Mass Of Metal And Heavy Electricity
C3: Vert:x - Bad Calibration
C4: Vert:x - Killer Beez
D1: Black Tempest - Energy Of Stars
D2: Frobisher Neck - Underwater Starblob

Strange Fish 3 is another double album, although this time all the artists are from the United Kingdom (Zenith: Unto The Stars, Earthling Society, Dead Pylons, Vert:x, Black Tempest, and Frobisher Neck all from England, Palace of Swords from Scotland, and The Golden Cake Company from Wales). Record one, side one opens with Palace of Swords' "Live At The Aberdeen Witch Trials 1597" which with its repeated drum pattern and swirling keys feels like a summons to a gallows. "Gemini" by Zenith: Unto The Stars furnishes the listener with more swirling synths and pads, plus an almost Arabian melody implying a sense of travel. The following three tracks on this side are a suite of tracks from Earthling Society with the umbrella title of "The Vampires Kiss". "Theme From A Vampire's Kiss" features nice dulcimer sounds and has almost an Ennio Morricone Western soundtrack feel to it. "The Dream" features gorgeous crystalline synths and sees Earthling Society mainman Fred Laird joined by Hilda Tittington on suitably vampire-esque vocals. "Kiss Of The Vampire - Morning Glory" seems to have conflicting rhythms at the same time - perhaps the music is meant to imply some sort of revelation but for me it doesn't seem to go anywhere until the acoustic guitar and "syntar" (?) are introduced into the mix for a mellow acoustic section. Oh, and recorders too! Palace of Swords opened this side of vinyl and they get to close it too with "Vicus Lemurum" consisting of a guitar loop and crystalline synth sounds (am I allowed to say "crystalline" again?), which together create magical circular patterns - musical fairy rings!

The first half of side two is given over to three tracks from Dead Pylons. The first is "Theme From Dead Pylons" and sounds like something the late lamented BBC Radiophonic Workshop might have created. It certainly has that horror/Sci-Fi cinematic quality to it. "Osiris" has an exciting and original electronic rhythm and bass guitar line; it's as if experimental electronic meets dub! It even has that melodica sound that reggae/dub producers love so much. "Dream Cargoes" has a lazy dreamy feel and perhaps a more authentic "kraut" sound than many of the other tracks here. On to The Golden Cake Company and "Thrum Mystique" which sees layers of arpeggiated synth and echoed guitar collaborating to create a wall of sound. The resultant spacey sounds are quite trance inducing, whilst subtle melodies, FX and changes in texture don't allow it to stray too far into a totally ambient soundscape. Palace of Swords again provide the side's closing piece. "The Temple Of Golden Rays" features more repetitive synth loops and pads, overlaid with subtle melodies. It sounds like a piece from one of FM3's Buddha Machines.

Side three opens and we're back again with The Golden Cake Company and a piece entitled "Arthurian". Once again, I detect a Gong "space rock" influence here in the intro with weird synth whooshes and glissando guitar. It noodles along for a while without a melody emerging then an arpeggiator starts up over some guitar gliss creating a subtle melody of sorts. It has all the right ingredients but this cake isn't quite as golden as I'd have liked. The remainder of this side of vinyl is given over to Vert:x, actually a one-man band comprised of Neil Whitehead who records using basic 4-track analogue equipment. "A Floating Mass Of Metal And Heavy Electricity" consists of sub-bass rumble and the by-now obligatory "spacey sounds". Unfortunately it's all a bit too abstract for my tastes. "Bad Calibration" is better, with guitar and bass and a good old-fashioned motorik beat. The use of "basic 4-track analogue equipment" is apparent here with the general lo-fi nature of the recording; nevertheless it feels all the more fitting for krautrock style music. Perhaps it's more La Dusseldorf than Neu! but it's definitely one of the better tracks in this set. "Killer Beez" fades in slowly and could be variation or remix of the previous piece with some serious phasing/flanging going on. (In fact, because of the nature of the music it took me a while to realise that a lot of fluff had built up on my stylus and the record was skipping. There was me thinking it was homage to Neu! 2, side two!)

Side four consists of just two pieces. Black Tempest's "Energy Of Stars" is nearly 13 minutes in length and features the usual spacey sounds juxtaposed with flutes, synth pads, etc, and after a couple of minutes along comes the inevitable arpeggiated synth part, plus what sounds like a violin melody (electric violin perhaps?) then some vibey/piano sounds. The rhythm could almost be taken directly from the middle section of Kraftwerk's "Autobahn". Around the middle of the piece, the arpeggiator fades out and we're left with pads and spacey sounds. The resultant effect is a little like listening to an organ in a cathedral... before some wild synths enter the mix and things start to get very busy. I fancy there are choral voices being used here too (mellotron or modern equivalent perhaps?), but soon the whole dies away to reveal a simple piano motif before the piece comes to a close. The second and last track on this side - and indeed the final piece on Strange Fish 3 - is by a name that should be familiar to most collectors of Fruits De Mer Records product, Frobisher Neck a.k.a. Tony Swettenham. "Underwater Starblob" has an organic almost "backwards" feel to it (use of melloton, tape loops and backwards echo on some of the sounds). It manages to very nicely set up an atmosphere; a rich and intriguing collage of sounds. Supposedly there was a sitar in the mix too, but my ears couldn't pinpoint it.

STRANGE FISH 4
A1: The Cat Frequency - Dreaming Of A Wooden Fish
A2: Organic Is Orgasmic - Chinese Horoscope
A3: Organic Is Orgasmic - Lifeless Void
A4: Zenith: Unto The Stars - Juno Quartet
A5: Zenith: Unto The Stars - Con Bala
A6: The Vox Humana - Shortwave Radio And The Ionosphere
B1: James McKeown - Avebury
B2: James McKeown - Euclid Dreaming
B3: James McKeown - Ursa Minor
B4: James McKeown - Sublime Knight Elect
B5: Temple Music - Dreaming of Flying East
B6: The Bordellos - Spirals

Other than Russia's Organic Is Orgasmic, Strange Fish 4 consists solely on British acts with only The Vox Humana representing Wales and all the other acts being English. The Cat Frequency open the proceedings on side 1 with "Dreaming Of A Wooden Fish" (a suitable catty title) which is an organic sounding piece with picked acoustic and electric guitars, having a sitar-like quality, and maybe there was some backwards guitar in there too? Organic is Orgasmic have two pieces in a row here: "Chinese Horoscope" features a wah-wahed guitar over a synth melody and some earthy-sounding bass, and "Lifeless Void" has bubbling synths, pads and some weird pitch shifting effects. Next up comes a pair of tracks from Zenith: Unto The Stars: "Juno Quartet" has a lush ambient spacey feel and builds nicely in intensity as the piece progresses and fades away again. "Con Bala" again starts with ambient pads, with a voice-like sound, and gives me the impression of hanging in space and slowly drifting. The Vox Humana's "Shortwave Radio And The Ionosphere" closes side one with more delicate picked acoustic guitar over a slow bass synth backing and various strange sounds in the mix (apparently MiniDisc loops and 10-band transistor radio receiver). A delicate synth melody line is picked out whilst a distorted electric guitar occupies the sonic territory in the background. The human voices from the radio receiver are quite welcome having listened to so much instrumental music on these albums.

Onto the final side then. Side two features four tracks in a row from James McKeown. "Avebury" is a repeating acoustic guitar and bass pattern overlaid with some swirly synths. "Euclid Dreaming" has more acoustic guitar, bass, and a glockenspiel melody making for a delicate dream-like quality. "Ursa Minor" showcases more of McKeown's acoustic guitar playing, with some EBow guitar providing counter-melodies in the background. "Sublime Knight Elect" sees acoustic guitar and various effects, more EBows, distorted guitar and picked individual notes all combining to give a hazy effect. The reference of "Oblique Strategies and tape" in the sleevenotes is lost on me here. The penultimate track is by Temple Music and it took me a while to realise that I wasn't still listening to the previous artist's work. "Dreaming of Flying East" has more acoustic guitar picking over a synth backing. It has quite a whimsical feel, and some spacey FX (I wondered what had happened to them) part way through. Finally, The Bordellos' "Spirals" is a stripped back keyboard "lament"-like melody. I'm not sure what happened to the guitars, bass, percussion and harmonica mentioned in the sleeve notes.

To be brutally honest, listening to so many sides of instrumental music for this review was hard work. I wasn't overly keen on Strange Fish 4, particularly side 2: all the tracks were very samey, and I think it may have been better to have positioned these elsewhere within the series so that they were juxtaposed against tracks of a different style.

Perhaps also for my own tastes the music on the whole was too "progressive" in style and not "krautrock" enough. Although I appreciate that "krautrock" is a very broad church, personally I like acts like Neu!, Harmonia, Cluster, Can, Faust, but I absolutely cannot abide the likes of Amon Duul (I and II), who to my ears sound just like American hippy shit rather than a musical style that could only have evolved in post WWII Germany. Maybe, this is a fault in my own tastes, but give me some good old motorik beats and a one-chord guitar riff and I'm happy. For myself I would have condensed this whole set of records down into a double album. I feel there is a lot of filler. It's not that there are any bad tracks included as such, it's just that a lot of it was OK when I wanted it to be AMAZING. I would have liked to have heard more vocals too. I mean, krautrock often had vocals, so why not?

Because I bought these albums as a set, I also got a free copy of Strange Fish 5 - a compilation of further pieces by even more bands but this time on a CD. I confess that I've not yet got around to listening to it. Also, because I put my order in early, the set also came with a very limited 7" 33rpm EP including a couple of edited highlights ("Euclid Dreaming" by James McKeown and "Song 4" by Julie's Haircut which was retitled on the actual album, although I forget which of the piece it was) and on the other side there is "Song From The River" by The Soft Hearted Scientists - it's a song from their new album False Lights and strangely is a track that was not included on the Fruits De Mer Whatever Happened To The Soft Hearted Scientists double vinyl LP compilation from earlier in the year. What's more - this track had vocals - which was most welcome!

The strange fish artwork on the album covers and record labels was all very nicely realised, but I do feel the packaging was still a little too bleak. It would have been nice to have had pictures of the participating artists on the back covers for example. Also, I realise that the choice of black and white swirled coloured vinyl was to fit in with the black and white scheme of the cover art, but swirl black and white together and what do you get? Grey! It's not the most exciting of colour schemes is it? (And why out of six records, was only Strange Fish LP 1 almost completely white?) Black and white half and half records would have looked much nicer, but perhaps they'd have worked out as a more expensive option.

Anyway, there's a lot more information and soundclips over on the Fruits De Mer website, and I believe each of the volumes are still available either singly or as a set (the set comes in its own outer sleeve too) so if this style of music appeals to you why not give them a whirl?

Camera - Systeme Solare 12" EP

2013 Bureau B, MS 977196 BB139

A1: Skylla
A2: Meteor
B1: Skylla (Remix by Solyst)
B2: Meteor (Remix by Alvin B. Clay)

This white vinyl 12" EP by Camera is the other Record Store Day 2013 release from Bureau B that I referred to in my recent review of that label's other three releases for RSD 2013.

Camera are a German band producing modern-day "krautrock" or "space rock" styled instrumental music. The trio behind the Camera - Franz Baargmann on guitar, Tim Brockmann on keyboards, and Michael Drummer on drums (with a name like that he must have felt compelled to take up that particular instrument) - have been making such a big impression on the "kosmische" music scene that a certain Mr Michael Rother (Kraftwerk, Neu!, Harmonia) has joined them on stage on several occasions. Their debut album Radiate! was released in 2012 by Bureau B and offers a fantastic slice of the genre; I'd recommend it to anyone keen on progressive instrumental rock.

This EP, however, was recorded at session in February 2013 and sees the trio joined by bassist Shaun Mulrooney who is credited on the Radiate! album only as "Invisible Man", so I'm guessing he's just an occasional band member.

"Skylla" offers much promise opening with a Tangerine Dream-like analogue synth pattern and then delivers magnificently as an insistent drum beat kicks in and is joined by bubbling synthesiser melodies intertwining around one another whilst a plaintive lead motif (not sure if it's another synth or else an EBow guitar or similar) provides a sense of melancholy amidst the maelstrom. The track rushes to a climax with grinding guitar added to the mix before the whole thing rapidly dissolves away to nothing.

"Meteor" effectively gives us more of the same, but ratcheted up a notch. With an arpeggiated synth groove, crashing drums and guitars it feels like the band are going for it at full throttle. Guitar feedback squeals give the track a very "live" feel; I can't help but think if ever The Jesus & Mary Chain decided to produce a kosmische song it would sound something like this.

On side two we get the same two tracks again, but this time in remixed versions. "Skylla (Remix by Solyst)" brings in a new bass motif and moves with a much more relaxed pace than the original track. It's also more atmospheric with emphasised percussion sounds and a new plucked string melody line. This time the whole track dissolves in a minor cacophony of radio interference and static.

"Meteor (Remix by Alvin B. Clay)" offers a more predictable "thud thud thud thud" four-to-the-floor dancefloor filler style, and probably features much less of the original source material than the first remix on this EP. It's a bit of a stomper but somehow manages to retain the atmosphere and urgency of the original.

Although this was a Record Store Day 2013 release limited to 700 copies, Bureau B still have a few copies available via their website. If synth-based instrumental kosmische music is your thing, snap one up soonest!

Bureau B's Record Store Day 2013 12" EP releases

LLOYD COLE & HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS - NNNNeonLLLLights
ROEDELIUS SCHNEIDER - Well Sustained / Schlummer
2013, Bureau B, MS976516 BB135

QLUSTER - Am Horizont
SCHNEIDER TM Bimanual Complexity (Gebrüder Teichmann Togo Mix)
2013, Bureau B, MS976526 BB136

JUNIOR ELECTRONICS - Mr. Mercator
MOEBIUS & TIETCHENS & JUNIOR ELECTRONICS - Herrlichkeit (Ken Charlton) / MOEBIUS & TIETCHENS - Tiefland
2013, Bureau B, MS976536 BB137

Bureau B is a German record label specialising in largely instrumental, electronic, experimental and avant garde music. Some of it you might want to call "krautrock", just so as to give it a label, but that rather lazy umbrella term doesn't necessarily seem to fit all the styles of music, especially more introspective instrumental ambient works where the "rock" element is quite irrelevant.

For Record Store Day 2013, Bureau B released a trio of double A-side 12" EPs, all similarly packaged in sleeves bearing the same design (note the subtle changes in colour between the different releases) and with the records being pressed on white vinyl. (I've said it before already, what IS it with white vinyl? Surely, the most boring of vinyl colours, outside of traditional black.)

Moving quickly onto the first of these three EPs. Put all thoughts of the similarly titled Kraftwerk song out of your head, "NNNNeonLLLLights" is an original composition, an outtake from the recording sessions for the Lloyd Cole and Hans-Joachim Roedelius collaboration Selected Studies Vol. 1. It's a minimalistic semi-ambient piece with background electronics overlaid with tuned percussion (marimba or xylophone or something similar) giving the track an oriental flavour. Roedelius must be one of the most prolific musicians in the avant garde, and he appears also on the other side of this record teamed up with Stefan Schneider as Roedelius Schneider. The first of their two pieces here, "Well Sustained" features more tuned percussion, and various electronic sounds and effects over a simple electronic pulse of a bassline. Gradually a melody emerges as various sounds drift in and out of the mix. I think there's even a guitar in there somewhere. All in all it's quite a hypnotic brew. "Schlummer" is of similar construction although with acoustic instruments such as piano being more prominent, and perhaps, I fancy, a little acoustic guitar being strummed too. The layers build up over a simple walking bassline to create a musical tapestry.

The second of these Record Store Day releases from Bureau B is the longest clocking in at 21 minutes (that's half an album). On one side we have "Am Horizont" by Qluster. A distinct entity apart from Kluster and Cluster, Qluster with a Q is Hans-Joachim Roedelius (him again!) and Onnen Bock. "Am Horizont" is a slowly developing but quite sumptuous piece beginning with an electric piano motif overlaid with various electronic and percussive sounds coming in and out of the mix. It's a very atmospheric and laid back piece; it's so relaxing that it is almost soporific, but I mean that in a good way; it's quite a beautiful piece of music. The other side of this disc is Gebrüder Teichmann's remix of Schneider TM's "Bimanual Complexity". On first listen this is quite a strange piece. While still minimalistic it's more lively than the piece of the other side of the record with a drum machine beat overlaid with a variety of strange and bizarre electronic sounds and samples. The original track is taken from the Schneider TM (a.k.a. Dirk Dresselhaus) album Construction Sounds. According to  Bureau B, "The album is what results when a delicate musician has to live amidst Berlin's construction noise for eight years, during the time when the former working class district of Prenzlauer Berg was transformed into a neighborhood for higher-income earners. Dresselhaus recorded the sounds and patterns produced by the construction workers and combined these moments with the electronic recordings that he made during this period..." With that little piece of knowledge, all the sounds of drills, breaking glass, power tools, assorted bangs and crashes, etc, make sense.

The third of these records features Junior Electronics on one side. Junior Electronics is in reality Joe Watson, a musician and sound engineer from Brighton in the UK, best known for his keyboard duties with Stereolab. The music here is quite different from the other pieces on this series of Bureau B Record Store Day releases and is quite poppy in nature. Not only is it not German, but here we have vocals too. "Mr. Mercator" is a jolly little romp of a tune. It's a piano-led piece, with a traditional sounding bass and drums in the background, along with the requisite electronics, of course. The other track on this side of the record, "Herrlichkeit (Ken Charlton)", is a Moebius & Tietchens piece that has been reworked by Junior Electronics inasmuch as he has put vocals onto it. Thankfully it is quite brief. I don't know who "Ken Charlton" is, and I feel like I am not being included on the artist's in-joke. This is easily the most throw-away piece on these three discs and is probably best forgotten. Onto the other side of this record and we have Moebius & Tietchens' "Tiefland", a track which takes a while to get started and appears initially to be a series of sound effects. Although a simple rhythm of sorts emerges from the random bleeps and bloops the piece doesn't really progress much beyond being a series of sound effects. Apparently it was an album out-take. It may have been better left on the cutting room floor.

So, to sum up, without a doubt the best of the bunch is the Qluster/Schneider TM disc; this is the one that I have had on the most frequent rotation. The disc featuring Roedelius Schneider is also well worth a spin or two, but less so on the Lloyd Cole & Hans-Joachim Roedelius side. As for the Junior Electronics/Moebius & Tietchens disc, you should probably give that one a miss.

Although these were Record Store Day 2013 releases, each limited to 500 copies, Tapete Records still have some left in stock at the time of writing, if any of them take your fancy.

P.S., there WAS actually a fourth Bureau B white vinyl 12" release for Record Store Day, but it was a separate entity from these three releases - it was by a single artist on both sides of the record and had its own cover art rather than the generic Bureau B design as on the above three records. However, I'm going to deal with this other record in a separate blog post.

The Conny Plank re-Work sessions

2013, Grönland Records, 12GRON123

A1: Eurythmics - Take Me To Your Heart (Popnoname Remix)
A2: Moebius & Plank - Infiltration (Walls Remix)
B1: NEU! - Für Immer (Eye/Boredoms Remix)
B2: Eurythmics - Le Sinistre (Kreidler Remix)

This was a Record Store Day purchase. It's a 12" EP featuring four tracks that have been reworked by the late legendary German record producer and audio engineer, Conny Plank. This was on my list of records to look out for on Record Store Day last month. I was referring to my list whilst asking the proprietor of Tangled Parrot in Carmarthen, Wales, which titles he had in stock. Seeing the list in my hand he commented that he had the Conny Plank record in stock and did I want it. "Oh yes please," I answered and grabbed the record as he passed it over and added it to my growing pile of purchases without actually looking at it.

When I got home, I saw that the Conny Plank record contained two songs by The Eurythmics. Had I seen this in the shop I probably wouldn't have bought it as I am no particular fan of The Eurythmics, not being overly fond of Annie Lennox's voice (and if you ask why, just listen to "There Must Be An Angel". I really can't be dealing with that kind of over-the-top singing with too many notes crammed in to each syllable).

However, on playing the record and listening to it several times over, it soon became the favourite of all my Record Store Day purchases. The Eurythmics tracks are both excellent, Lennox's voice is nicely understated and they fit in nicely with the two more "krautrock" style pieces. The version of "Für Immer" by NEU! (one of my very favourite acts) feels as if it has been broken down into its component parts and then re-built in an enirely new shape. And why not? If I want to listen to the original version, I can always play "NEU! 2". "Infiltration", the Moebius and Plank piece (Conny Plank himself along with Dieter Moebius, best known for his work with Cluster and Harmonia) feels like it's going to be a weird ambient instrumental piece to start with but soon develops into the most incredibly hypnotic "kraut" vibe.

So yeah, it's a great record and one which I'm so pleased that I bought. It's just as well I didn't see the tracklisting when I was in the shop as my Eurythmics prejudices would have gotten the better of me. I now think that perhaps I've judged them too harshly and that I should discover more of their non-hit single work.