Pete Namlook/Klaus Schulze/Bill Laswell: The Dark Side of the Moog VII

This fascinating series of excursions deep into the realm of ambient electronic music comprising eleven volumes from 1993 to 2008 from FAX Records impresario Pete Namlook (Peter Kuhlmann), Klaus Schulze (briefly in Tangerine Dream), and, on four of the albums, the ubiquitous bassist and producer Bill Laswell, is not only given an excellent punning title, but the word play continues with individual tracks further playing off the output of Pink Floyd.  In this case the 50-minute piece in this seventh volume released in 1998 is called "Obscured by Klaus" in reference to that band's seventh album, Obscured by Clouds.  Namlook noted, though, that there was no connection or homage to the British group, other than having fun with puns.

There is plenty of diversity in the sound elements when listening to this recording, either at high volume (as in the car) or, even better, with headphones.  Washes of sound, varied textures, often strong rhythms, found voices and other components work well over the course of the six parts, which are well organized and programmed.  There is often a beguiling beauty in the more ambient sections, but the variety with more percussive sections and a range of electronics with the Moog as the backbone make this an excellent entry in the series.

Reboot with Pete Namlook/Bill Laswell's Outland

This 1994 collaboration between the late German electronic musician Pete Namlook (Peter Kuhlmann) and the prolific bassist and producer Bill Laswell is a trip deep into ambient sound and the first of five editions in the Outland series with the pair also producing five albums under the Psychonavigation moniker.  They also worked with Klaus Schulze on a few editions of the Dark Side of the Moog series--all for Namlook's amazing FAX Records series.

It begins with an eerie sound source of Mongolian tuva singers and instrumentation and then dissolves into a low, quiet drone.  Excepting some variation in rhythm and tones and a bit of manipulation of Laswell's bass, the 62-minute piece is an exercise in deep, dark ambience.

Outland reminds me a lot of the work of another Laswell collaborator, Mick Harris, and his Lull project, which is actually darker than this.  I'm a big fan of the Lull series of recordings, so this album is also a favorite.  I've found it to be a good recording to have on while working at the computer or in the yard (even better with headphones) or on a longer commute in the car.

FAX Compilation 1

My introduction to the remarkable electronic sound world of Pete Namlook (real name Peter Kuhlmann—check the surname backwards) came through his many collaborations with one of my favorite musicians, Bill Laswell, in the multi-volume Psychonavigation and Outland series of recordings for Namlook's FAX label.  I have most of the entries in both series and have enjoyed them immensely.

It is always admirable when a musician working in a very uncommercial environment can create their own sustainable label and the FAX label is a good example of this.  Until his untimely death in 2012, just before his 52nd birthday, the prolific German artist released a major catalog of his own recordings and of many others through the label.

This compilation is one of several released by FAX over the years and appeared in 1994.  In addition to Namlook's work under the nom de plumes of The Putney, Air and 4Voice, there are collaborations with Richie Hawtin and Tetsu Inoue and contributions from Inoue, Atom Heart, longtime Laswell collaborator Robert Musso, and others.

This two-disc set is filled with excellent ambient pieces and works particularly well with headphones and concentrated attention.  This is also the easiest to find of the several FAX compilations, because it had outside distribution, so, for those who like ambient electronics (and this was the heyday of it), the album is well worth seeking out.

Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook: Psychonavigation

The German ambient electronica wizard, Pete Namlook (Kuhlmann), died unexpectedly last month at the very young age of 51.  A prolific creator of space-imbued music and proprietor of the notable FAX label, Namlook also had a number of collaborative projects over the years.  This blogger's exposure to Namlook's music came through his extensive work with the polymath Bill Laswell in two five-part series, Outland and Psychonavigation, with one appearing to refer to the external (space) and other internal (psychology)?

Both projects commenced about the same time in the mid-1990s when the ambient scene, perhaps, had peaked and continued well into the 2000s and YHB has three volumes of Outland and all five of Psychonavigation, with any of the ten albums being somewhat difficult to find.

In any case, they are fascinating excursions into the far reaches of ambient electronica and the first introduction of this listener came with the initial offering in the Psychonavigation series, released in 1995 on the Subharmonic label, which issued a great deal of Laswell's music at the time. 

This edition, unfortunately, came out on a special interactive disc that was probably a forward-thinking idea at the time (the front cover has "IBM" on it!) featuring interactive computer data generated by the Interactive Multimedia Corporation which consisted of "fractints" or visuals which took Laswell's bass lines and created onscreen visual patterns.  Because the technology has long been outdated, those visuals are not able to be opened, at least not on any format this blogger has had since acquiring the disc several years ago.  Of course, with Windows Media Player you could get different accompanying visuals anyway, if anyone decided those would be of interest.

There are three long tracks that span from ten to just under forty minutes that are true evocations of space-minded and experimental ambient electronic music with washes of sound, rumbling bass tones (these best appreciated with speakers that have a good bottom end delivery), trippy samples and so on.  Laswell also has worked on a number of collaborative ambient projects, as well, with Mick Harris, Tetsu Inoue, his multi-volume Divination project, and a two-volume ambient compendium through the fantastic Axiom label he ran through Island Records, but his work with Namlook is very impressive because of the great contributions of his late co-creator.

The longest track is the more enjoyable and diverse, this being the aptly-titled "Psychic and UFO Revelations in the Last Days," and it is probably safe to assume that there is plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor in these bizarre, but fascinating, excursions into the outer limits of sound and music.  This extended 38:47 piece really does call out for a mindset of traveling.

The other two pieces "Angel Tech" and "Black Dawn" are also interesting pieces and also filled with trademark Namlook touches, as well as the kind of contributions expected from Laswell's many ambient projects in the Nineties. 

The last of the released collaborations between these two amazing artists came out in the mid-2000s and all are worth exploring if this is the kind of explorations of sound that are of interest.  Psychonavigation is a great place to start for those looking to dabble into the music, though Outland 2 is also highly recommended and will be featured here in the future.

Bill Laswell/Pete Namlook: Psychonavigation (Subharmonic, 1995)

1.  Psychic and UFO Revelations in the Last Days  38:47
2.  Angel Tech  10:18
3.  Black Dawn  21:18