In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Ptomaine 2”
Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Ptomaine was originally released on RRRecords in 1996 as a 3 LP set. This is the second volume of the first ever CD re-issue.
12,50€
In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Schatten Ohne Licht”
Black Rose Recordings are proud to present the exceptional new album by Asmus Tietchens. E.M. Cioran plays a very important role in most of Tietchen's work and this release is no different. For this release Cioran has a fellow anthropofugal thinker: Ulrich Horstmann. The theme of this release deals with a return to a mineral world without any organic species, and therefore uninhabitable for human beings. This very radical dystopia serves as a foil to the six chapters of "Schatten ohne Licht". There is something profound about the music. It can be slow and is certainly contemplative. Maybe the music is a sign of the state of our times?
As a pioneer of electronic composition his work spans over four decades and doesn't fit easily into any one category. Early recordings ranged from experiments with tape machines and electronic sound through to experimental pop. Later works were a more sculptural blend of abstract microelectronics, industrial sounds and musique concrete.
Never straightforward or obvious, always unpredictable and innovative. His ground-breaking music influences many working in today's electronic music scene. He has worked almost exclusively as a solo artist, but other releases have seen him collaborate with well-known and diverse artists such as Dieter Moebius (Cluster & Harmonia), Thomas Koener, Richard Chartier, and Merzbow.
12,00€
In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Ptomaine 1”
Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Ptomaine was originally released on RRRecords in 1996 as a 3 LP set. This is the first volume of the first ever CD re-issue.
12,50€
In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Seuchengebiete 4”
Seuchengebiete 4, the continuation of Asmus Tietchens’ almost legendary series of treated water sounds, consists of six Hydrophonies. The sonic palette ranges from deep gurgling bass pulses to fragile movements of showering bright particles. The overall mood is ernest, contemplative and dark. Seuchengebiete 4 is perhaps the ultimate soundtrack for our crises-ridden times.
14,00€
Out of stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Raum 318”
Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Raum 318 was originally released on cassette only in 1991 on the E'ostrate label in France, in an edition of only 138 hand-numbered copies. It is a part of Tietchens' more Industrial sounding body of work and was remastered for this edition. In addition, a long previously unreelased bonus track has been added.
12,00€
In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Linea +”
Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Linea was originally released on cassette on Dutch Korm Plastics label, later re-issued as a CDR in 1999. It is one of Tietchens's most minimal compositions, and has a special place in our music hearts here at Klanggalerie. For our new edition, Asmus Tietchens has dug deep into his archive and unearthed two further Linea pieces that have so far never seen the light of day.
12,00€
In stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Dämmerattacke”
Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. The album Dämmerattacke was originally released on Dutch Korm Plastics label in 1997 as a limited edition vinyl LP only. It was later reissued as a double CD with Eisgang. For this latest edition, we have added another bonus track making the CD 20 minutes longer than the LP.
12,00€
Out of stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Stenogramme, zweite Folge”
28 ideas in 28 tracks. Pure electronic music. Limited edition of 150 copies. Digipak. Out of print at source ! Last copies.
12,00€
In stock
LP
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Teils teils”
“I’ve been a fan of Asmus Tietchens’ music since formen letzter hausmusik came out in 1984. That LP fascinated me and I soon began acquiring anything I could by this strange musical force. I’ve learned a lot from his music over the years and we became acquainted via the post in the late 90s. As it turns out, we both have an extreme fondness for cigarette smoking and an interest in Max Nordau’s degeneration, so what better place for his first LP release in years than swill radio? The side-long teilmenge 20 starts off the lp with an odd manic ticking that never lets up. Other sounds ebb and flow throughout and the whole piece has the rare quality of sounding totally artificial and yet organic at the same time. The second side slows things down with three tracks of dripping industrial ambience. The whole lp brings to my mind an atmosphere of waiting. To quote my good friend matt krefting, “no one’s music sounds both as cold and as emotional in quite the same way as the music of asmus tietchens”. I couldn’t agree more. Excellent stuff!” label info
17,00€
Out of stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Ornamente (zwischen Null und Eins)”
“A new album by Asmus Tietchens can be quite an intimidating prospect. The Hamburg-based acoustics professor has been investigating the inner and outer realms of electronic sound production since the mid-sixties. He makes no concessions to mass marketing: the ‘press release’ for this disc simply features a quote, in German, from everyone’s favourite Romanian misanthropist philosopher, Emile Cioran, taken from a withering critique of French culture and high gastronomy. But you can forget about all that once you put the disc on and immerse yourself in the delicate, ethereal sounds that unfurl like wisps of light-reflecting dust.
The otherworldy tones and subtle dynamics here are rich in detail and complexity, but the drama is on a microscopic scale, giving that sense of being opened up to a new dimension of musical experience. Some of the weird tonal characteristics Tietchens favours remind me of Alvin Lucier’s ‘I Am Sitting In A Room’ - where a narration is gradually blotted out by the resonant feedback of the room through a process of replaying and re-recording. Tietchens manipulates and arranges his strange resonances to open up a haunting sound world of tones that float eerily amidst watery, metallic glints. The disc’s final track builds into the most expansive composition with a melodic arc surging through the deceptive stillness, suggesting more cosmic dimensions that I can imagine gracing an intense, introspective sci-fi film that’s probably impossible to make.”
(normanrecords.com)
The otherworldy tones and subtle dynamics here are rich in detail and complexity, but the drama is on a microscopic scale, giving that sense of being opened up to a new dimension of musical experience. Some of the weird tonal characteristics Tietchens favours remind me of Alvin Lucier’s ‘I Am Sitting In A Room’ - where a narration is gradually blotted out by the resonant feedback of the room through a process of replaying and re-recording. Tietchens manipulates and arranges his strange resonances to open up a haunting sound world of tones that float eerily amidst watery, metallic glints. The disc’s final track builds into the most expansive composition with a melodic arc surging through the deceptive stillness, suggesting more cosmic dimensions that I can imagine gracing an intense, introspective sci-fi film that’s probably impossible to make.”
(normanrecords.com)
11,00€
Out of stock
CD
ASMUS TIETCHENS
“Geboren, um zu dienen”
8th part in the ongoing re-release series of all early Tietchens albums between 1980-1991. Described by Tietchens himself as his ’Industrial’ album, “Geboren, um zu Dienen” was originally released on the spanish Esplendor Geometrico label in 1986. The CD version incl. three unreleased bonus tracks from the same period and comes with a full colour fold-out booklet incl. liner notes by Tietchens himself.
“If I’d ever recorded an ’Industrial’ solo album, it must be “Geboren, um zu dienen”. Although I obviously wasn’t one of the inventors of ’Industrial Music’, I clearly felt an affinity to it. So I tried to learn my lessons well adding my own musical aspects to the general apocalyptic noises of this genre. My main concern was to dive deep into the canonical topics of fear, hysteria, claustrophobia, machine and threat. The end was imminent as hundreds of Pershings and SS20 all pointed in the direction of the march up area called West Germany, the seals of the read buttons were already broken. Even the conventional alternative - a tank war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact - sounded like utter apocalypse. Would we really have welcomed our brothers from the east with open arms ? This particular background has to be seen as the main influence on “Geboren, um zu dienen”. I believe that many of my colleagues also recording ’Industrial’ albums felt the same at that time. IF there would have been a ’Bang’ it - without doubt - would have been global. Fear, emptiness and the futility of the aesthetical, were not alien to me, but until then I moved inside a carefully tested zone which was defined by a spectrum of experimental forms. “Geboren, um zu dienen” was an experiment in itself which first fruits I set free immediately. As if I’d to work under a deadline I recorded the tracks hastily, not wasting much thoughts about dynamics, duration, precision and construction. In the same way I resolutely did rough mixes of the seperate tracks of the pieces: what sounded dirty stayed dirty. Essentially the raw and the unsculptured were a part of the dogma of ’Industrial’. The original nine tracks plus five more (three which appear as Bonustracks on this CD) all developed in a very short period of time. The album was released on the spanish ’Esplendor Geometrico’ label, run by Andres Noarbe, in the same year. Originally a tape only label EG released a series of radical albums during the mid 80’s, also albums by the ’Industrial’ group of the same name, many which are much sought after items today. Of course only 500 copies of the album were pressed, which still meant a considerable financial risk given the small circle of potentionally interested listeners. But the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone involved lead to a self-evident ’Nevertheless’.
Looking back at these years it has to be noted that I established a daring attitude then, which luckily developed positively and stayed with me until today. The fact that a german attorneys general confiscated a small number of the LP in 1990 deeming the cover as being immoral (”A Call for abortion”), was registered with satisfaction. A case like this corresponds with the mark of quality granted by the ’Stiftung Warentest’. Go on Germany !” Asmus Tietchens, 2006
“If I’d ever recorded an ’Industrial’ solo album, it must be “Geboren, um zu dienen”. Although I obviously wasn’t one of the inventors of ’Industrial Music’, I clearly felt an affinity to it. So I tried to learn my lessons well adding my own musical aspects to the general apocalyptic noises of this genre. My main concern was to dive deep into the canonical topics of fear, hysteria, claustrophobia, machine and threat. The end was imminent as hundreds of Pershings and SS20 all pointed in the direction of the march up area called West Germany, the seals of the read buttons were already broken. Even the conventional alternative - a tank war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact - sounded like utter apocalypse. Would we really have welcomed our brothers from the east with open arms ? This particular background has to be seen as the main influence on “Geboren, um zu dienen”. I believe that many of my colleagues also recording ’Industrial’ albums felt the same at that time. IF there would have been a ’Bang’ it - without doubt - would have been global. Fear, emptiness and the futility of the aesthetical, were not alien to me, but until then I moved inside a carefully tested zone which was defined by a spectrum of experimental forms. “Geboren, um zu dienen” was an experiment in itself which first fruits I set free immediately. As if I’d to work under a deadline I recorded the tracks hastily, not wasting much thoughts about dynamics, duration, precision and construction. In the same way I resolutely did rough mixes of the seperate tracks of the pieces: what sounded dirty stayed dirty. Essentially the raw and the unsculptured were a part of the dogma of ’Industrial’. The original nine tracks plus five more (three which appear as Bonustracks on this CD) all developed in a very short period of time. The album was released on the spanish ’Esplendor Geometrico’ label, run by Andres Noarbe, in the same year. Originally a tape only label EG released a series of radical albums during the mid 80’s, also albums by the ’Industrial’ group of the same name, many which are much sought after items today. Of course only 500 copies of the album were pressed, which still meant a considerable financial risk given the small circle of potentionally interested listeners. But the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone involved lead to a self-evident ’Nevertheless’.
Looking back at these years it has to be noted that I established a daring attitude then, which luckily developed positively and stayed with me until today. The fact that a german attorneys general confiscated a small number of the LP in 1990 deeming the cover as being immoral (”A Call for abortion”), was registered with satisfaction. A case like this corresponds with the mark of quality granted by the ’Stiftung Warentest’. Go on Germany !” Asmus Tietchens, 2006
13,00€
Out of stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Aus Freude am Elend”
“11th part in the ongoing re-release series of all early Tietchens albums between 1980-1991. Aus Freude Am Elend is based on the human voice as a primary sound source and was originally released in edition of 500 copies on Dom America in 1988. The CD includes two previously unreleased tracks and comes in a jewel case with full color artwork and poster booklet also feat. The original front and back cover. First edition of 600 copies”. “Following my research of piano and water sounds (DS102, DS88) it didn’t come as a surprise that my next project was about the human voice as a sound source. The great masters of Plunderphonics already showed the way in the early 80’s, when they plundered the gigantic junk-shops packed full of already recorded material, which was stolen by them to use it for their own aesthetic targets. This album only consists of such stolen goods. Each track with the exception of ’In memoriam P.F.’) was based on voices of people who I naturally didn’t ask their permission to use these recordings in the first place. So you can hear the voices of ecstatic religious people as well as other people making love. You’ll also hear someone singing to Annette and Peggy out of the trash bin of a publishing company. Even the screams of furious teachers came in handy while I made loops from them. Especially loops: Rarely before this album and only once after it (on Stupor Mundi) did I made use of the structural means of loops to such an extent. I was fascinated by the rhythmical and harmonic permanence, in the same way as many of my musical colleagues at the time. The aspect of the ’Ritual’ was a self-evident common formulation in difficult music during the 80s, so loops and tape voices, monotonous rhythms and LoFi became obvious means to shape the music. AUS FREUDE AM ELEND too was strongly spiced with these ingredients and therefore can be seen as a prototype album of this specific view of music during the time. This tendency was supported - even partly inspired - by a new generation of sound machines, which also made it possible for new aesthetic goals to appear at the horizon. The 90s were near at hand and sound art music would develop drastically in many ways in the years to follow. Samplers, digital editing, hard-disc recording and the first PC’s opened new doorways. Half of the material on AUS FREUDE AM ELEND was already created with these digital tools. I never quite understood how the labels Dom America (run by Jon Carlson) and Dom here in Germany were connected. Did Carlson used to be a fan of Dom which was founded by Christoph Heemann and Achim Flaam. Did he simply liked the release politics of this label. And what became of Dom America ? Actually I don’t know. I guess it was one of the small enthusiastic independent labels which released a handful of titles and which disappeared after being active for a couple of years during the 80s. However AUS FREUDE AM ELEND had vanished shortly after its release. I only used ’stolen’ voices twice again (’Stupor Mundi’, 1990 and ’Das Fest ist zu Ende. Aus’, 1993) after this album by the way.” Editorial notes : All the tracks were copied from the original tapes which I found to be still in very good condition. The final track "Weiter nicht" on Side-B of the LP ended with a lock groove. It’s presented here in its original length and therefore stops abruptly. The bonus track "Doch noch weiter" was recorded almost one year after the release of the LP.
15,00€
Out of stock
CD
Asmus TIETCHENS
“Fast ohne Titel, Korrosion”
Black Rose Recordings are proud to present the exceptional new album by Asmus Tietchens. Corrosion is a degradation mechanism. It is an insidious process often difficult to recognise until deterioration is well advanced. Are these new pieces a comment on the current state of noise music, serious music or both ?
As a pioneer of electronic composition his work spans over three decades and doesn’t fit easily into any one category. Early recordings ranged from experiments with tape machines and electronic sound through to experimental pop. Later works were a more sculptural blend of abstract microelectronics, industrial sounds and musique concrete.
Never straightforward or obvious, always unpredictable and innovative his ground breaking music influences many working in today’s experimental music scene. He has worked almost exclusively as a solo artist but recent releases have seen him collaborate with well known and diverse artists such as Dieter Moebius (Cluster & Harmonia), Thomas Koener and Richard Chartier.
12,00€