Release data:

Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder – Repelen 3
CD, Manikin Records, 2010

After more than 15 years and a lot of live recordings, the trio Broekhuis, Keller & Schönwälder comes up with “Repelen 3”.
The outcome was recorded at Detlef’s studio in October and November 2009, and sees the trio accompanied by Thomas Kagermann (violin) and Raugi Ebert (e-guitar), both known from the BKS-concerts.

“Repelen 3” starts with the nice and moody “Storm Chaser”, which sees a nice interaction of electronics, violin, guitars and rhythms. At times, the music reminded me quite a bit of Schulze’s “Trancefer”.
Next is “Sunset Café”, which despite the slight romantic flavour of the song, comes forward rather flat and repetitive to my ears. This especially applies to the overall song structure and the used rhythm, while the mellotron textures sound harsh to my ears.

“Sunset” sets out slow but is gradually set in a faster mode, but its overall sonic atmosphere remains one-dimensional and minimal despite the nice addition of violin. I again noticed a certain “Trancefer”-feel here, but in the end things feel uninspired as there’s actually not much happening in this 12-minute piece.

A beautiful hymn-like theme forms the core of “Madrigal”, a neo-classical piece that’s accompanied by a choir and some e-guitar. Seems like good old John Kerr says hello here. The fifth and sixth track sound both like jam sessions in the studio, missing direction next to lacking musical development as the tracks moves on.

“Skinner’s Run” is the closing track, which finally sees some more dynamics: an up-tempo straightforward sequencer pattern and rhythm take centre stage, accompanied by e-guitar and synth soloing. The guitar is more prominent and set in rocking-mode in the second half of the track.

In the end, “Repelen 3” didn’t leave me a satisfied feeling, maybe I’m used to or a bit spoiled by their live sound…

Website: www.manikin.de

You can see what reviews I have done of these artists on the Bas Broekhuis, Detlef Keller and Mario Schönwälder artist pages