On »Gelb«, Conrad Schnitzler departs from the grand form for the first time – and from the programmed processes he had preferred until then. The miniatures from 1973 and 1974 show Schnitzler trying out new electronic strategies, in which melodies played by hand are also allowed. There is no need to fear sprawling prog-rock bagpipes from him, however; Schnitzler, who is always a little bit aloof and dismissive, has himself very much under control when improvising on the keys. What makes »Gelb« so fascinating are the experiments with more or less abstract surfaces that often point beyond the sonic horizon of the early seventies, anticipating approaches of ambient, IDM or even techno, without making it possible to reduce the pieces to a specific genre. Those monotonous rhythms typical of Schnitzler can be found here, as well as field recordings (splashing water accompanied by the cry of seagulls), the beginnings of spherical music or ominous, broken futurism that points towards Detroit. A little bit of drone can also be heard, surrounded by tender melodies instead of monumental ones, but it is in no way cloying. A voyage of discovery that still remains exciting until today.
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