Lopsided robots with unhinged plates and bits of wire dangling from their joints; malfunctioning machinery whose friendly, yet damaged hum provides the faintest clue its computerized emissions might have originated from a human mind: these scenes from the lab of German electronic music composer Asmus Tietchens are just a few skewed demonstrations of his distant mastery of highbrow composition guised in synth-pop's veneer. In the early 1980s, before he set out on a full-time mission of modern musique concrete and a goal of "absolute music" (that which doesn't necessarily paint a picture or tell a story, and most certainly makes no concessions to the accessible), Tietchens followed a detour into short, immediately distinctive electro-snap jingles for vintage German electronica label Sky Records (Moebius/Plank/Neumeier, Conrad Schnitzler). 1981's Biotop was only his second LP after 15 years of perfecting his craft, and should be right on time for folks down with futuristic pop like Cluster or Kraftwerk.
Perhaps you're wondering, "If this guy is so great, why haven't I heard of him?" My guess is that since albums such as Biotop, and others like Spat Europa and In Die Nacht scheduled for reissue on Die Stadt, have never been available on CD until now. Also, Tietchens (born 1947 in Hamburg) has done a pretty good job of hiding from anyone who might dig strange, tuneful synthesizer ditties by concentrating on more "serious," formalistic electronic works, and releasing albums on such notable experimental labels as Ritornell and Staalplaat. Klangkrieg's Felix Kubin has been an outspoken champion and collaborator of Tietchens, but for the most part, I'd say he hadn't exactly received much due outside of uber-hipster electronic music circles. With that in mind, Biotop is a delight, and with any luck, it will make Tietchens a household name-- at least in houses that already hold modern-day groups like Mouse on Mars, Kammerflimmer Kollektief and even The Notwist in high esteem.
This reissue begins with two previously unreleased tracks that fit in very well with the rest of the album, and in fact serve as a nice summarization of the loopy, compact etudes contained therein. "Futurum Drei" gallops along with classic Moog lines reminiscent of ones made famous by Wendy Carlos in the early 1970s, though Tietchens isn't here to space you out. In fact, despite the odd layer of reverb and persistent, pinging bassline, the music doesn't seem so much an exercise in electronic composition, but the incidental music to a retro-futuristic movie about a trek through the desert. "Fast Food" is much more rhythmically forceful, featuring a goofy, pogo-bounce Latin beat that somehow makes Casio seem like the keyboard of choice for the discriminating listener. Better yet, Tietchens' melody is superb; fans of Yellow Magic Orchestra or early Human League (you know who you are, Plagenhoef) should get a major kick out of this.
"Modern Arroganz" is synth-pop taken to its logical endpoint: uptempo robo-funk and staccato snare over which minimal Moog hits pitter-patter to no end alongside a computerized vocal proclaiming who knows what scarifying mantra. "Trümmerköpfe" eases in with considerably less frantic precision, employing faux-exotica sound effects (Tietchens could have given Esquivel a run for his money) and a cha-cha 4/4 beat. In a bizarro universe (or the one in A Clockwork Orange), maybe this stuff is used as super-strength advertisement music, offering homemakers of the future everything they could possibly need.
Other pieces, like the title track, are more obviously experimental. "Biotop" begins on a single, piercing note and expands to include overtones from a whole range of synthesizer technology most musicians probably haven't even explored now, much less in 1981. As layer upon layer of bright, somehow comforting fuzz-ambience subsumes the original tone, it suddenly recedes like a supernova into a shadow of its former brilliance. Like most accomplished composers, Tietchens' had a way of making simple elements work wonders.
Die Stadt is presently in the process of releasing all of Tietchens' early material in a series of 18 CDs, of which Biotop is the second. It's my favorite of his, and if you're interested in the development of IDM in any way, it's practically required listening. Of all the archival electronic recordings awaiting reissue, Tietchens' work on Sky is some of the most necessary, and consistently enjoyable. Highly recommended.
