Der Laborant – Kontakt

Der Laborant - Kontakt

Don’t be deceived by the clinical sounding name of the artist or its cover-art, as the musician responsible for the very nice “Kontakt” (assembled from tracks made between 1996-1998) is no other then the talented Gerd Wienekamp, also known as one half of Rainbow Serpent.

Gerd’s fine electronic music ventures beyond the Berlin School tradition but also differentiates quite a bit from the output of Rainbow Serpent by taking the long run with complex pads, sequencer sketches and percussion. The outcome is cosmic, moody and futuristic, merging rhythmic and ambient elements along some catchy (sometimes multi-layered) sequencing, while melody takes on a minor role.

Besides some classical references, Mr Wienekamp’s music reveals some clever, inventive approaches shining a new light on contemporary electronic music. “Die Maschine”, is a well-done exercise on the disc, giving full-blooded heart and soul to the industrial subject, and the tasty title-track with its dancy beats and sequencer patterns. And good old Schulze says hello on the groovy “Verwandlungen”, which could have lasted even a bit longer to my taste.

As is the case with the Rainbow Serpent releases, the albums sound esthetics are detailed and the production/mastering impeccable.

In 2012, the album was re-released on cd-r and digital download with a bonus track by SynGate, as the original factory-pressed release (mine has small colored contacts in the spine of jewel case as a nice feature) on the sadly demised Ardema-label is long out of print.

 

 

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