TEN AMBIENT CLASSICS No1: Pete Namlook and Richie Hawtin

 

Pete Namlook and Richie Hawtin – Homeward Bound (1994)

 

Hawtin, in his Plastikman phase, joined forces with Namlook to create the From Within series of ambient albums, this track taken from the first released in ’94. An intriguing collaboration, given Hawtin’s then reputation as a producer of fairly intense techno (images of Namlook restraining a frothing, bug-eyed Hawtin at the mixing desk, shouting ‘Nein, Ritchie, nein! No head-banging today! Is ambient only, ja?’ Ahem, sorry.), they nonetheless gave us this particular gem (though the whole album is rather good) which opens with a German lady verbalising Christ knows what in her native tongue, before the pitter-patter of synths move in and lead us into a suitably down-tempo, drifting melody, which bounces back and forth from beatless to twiddly synth mode – not unlike ‘School of Fish’ – to beatless and then back to twiddly synth again. Delightful.

 

Can’t find Homeward Bound, so accept something else from the album in its place, Snake Charmer.

 

~ by acidted on February 20, 2012.