Conrad Schnitzler is one of the members of the second start of Tangerine Dream (after the first split in 1969). This meant a change in their music style, thus being one of the founding bands of the Berlin School of Electronic Music. Conrad always had a love for electronically generated sounds, which he also expressed in his solo works.
This tape is, like some other releases of Conrad, named after the date the songs where ‘conceived’. It is all played live and directly taped. He is not using any keyboard or other input device, it is all about twisting knobs.
Side A reminds me a lot of the Center for Electronic Music at the Philips Research Lab experiments in the late 50’s, early 60’s. All nice swooshes and ‘uncontrolled’ sequences of highly pitched notes. It really takes you back in time to the beginning of the space age and science-fiction. HAL9000 comes in at the end of this side, erasing your memory.
Side B consists of two different pieces and one piece that is combination of the former two pieces. 1+1=3. The first part of this side is more about steadily panning sounds combined with fluttering high pitched waves, while the second part is more made of sounds a cat could produce when it walks on an old toy keyboard. Nonetheless it is a really intriguing piece because of its randomness.
The third piece, as I said before, is more or less a combination of the other two pieces on this side of the tape. Its is where this side gets together. It even has a sort of structure to it.
This tape could make a good soundtrack to a 60's science fiction movie. Seeing a swamp monster on a moon of Saturn eating some kind of mechanical fireflies isn't difficult when you listen to this tape.
The tape itself is professionally made and even shrink wrapped. Great presentation of Mirror Tapes and a good example of how new tapes should be released.
4/5 blips for the hips
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