Sun and synth with: 2 by Kl(aüs) #Synth #KrautRock @Castlesinspace
The sky is blue. The sun is shining. And there’s the remnants of the first frost of the year on the rooves. And that’s what 2 by Kl(aüs) sounds like.
The album is a mix of lovely bright synths and a smattering of Krautrock frostiness. Shurnarkabtishashutu is the opening track, coming in at a whopping 14 minutes. It’s a track of phases with an opening that’s more chilly Krautrock than anything else. But it hides some more ambient synths that eventually break through in a cheery second half. The album’s not out until the end of the month so the only other track available to stream is Heroes of 1986. I assume this is a reference to Gary Linaker winning the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup. A first by an England player. And he had a cast on his arm. Anyhow, the track is a retro sounding but simultaneously contemporary synthwave track, coming over a bit like the love child of JMJ and Harold Faultemeyer. A shoe-in TV detective theme if ever I heard one.
And being on the lovely Castles In Space label it’s available on vinyl: A limited pressing of Kl(aüs) 2 on green/clear marble vinyl. The LP comes with an insert and download code. Initial copies include a Kl(aüs) sticker designed by Stewart.
Blurb: Kl(aus) are Jonathan Elliott and Stewart Lawler, plus a rotating roster of friends and collaborators. Originally from Tasmania, now living and working in Sydney, the pair have known each other for several decades and formed Kl(aus) in 2013 over a beer and a shared appreciation of Tangerine Dream’s 79-85 period. They both have long experience in the music industry – Lawler, formerly a member of Sydney techno-pop outfit Boxcar has spent much of the last ten years touring with Tom Ellard’s Severed Heads. Elliott is a classically trained pianist who played in multiple local bands in the 1990s, touching on numerous genres and styles.
“I’m getting a bit hesitant to call us straight-up Berlin School these days,” says Lawler, “I think we’ve moved beyond that with this album in some ways. Maybe it’s my classical background but when I’m mixing our tracks I tend to think of each instrument contributing their own line as part of an ensemble, which is not a million miles from the way our favourite Froese/Franke/Schmoelling era Tangerine Dream tracks used to work either. Plus the album format is probably as close as I’ll ever get to working on long-form ‘classical’ music. One of our aims, after all, has been to reclaim electronic music from the dance floor and put it back into the concert hall.’
ACID TED 