3.5

Release data:

Solitaire – Altered States
CD, Musique Intemporelle, 1990

Solitaire is the brainchild of German synthesist Elmar Schulte, a project devoted to ambient/electronic music.

For some albums and Solitaire’s debut “Altered States”, Schulte collaborated with the classically trained composer/musician Rüdiger Gleisberg.
In 1989 Elmar and Rüdiger Gleisberg moved in the same house where they could work together on their music. They received an invitation from Mario Schönwälder for a concert on November 11, 1989 in Berlin where Mario and Bernd Kistenmacher also performed.
This was actually two days after the fall of the Berliner wall, which made the two musician decide to prepare some songs together. Solitaire’s concert in a church in Berlin was successful, so afterwards Bernd asked them to produce a cd for his label “Musique Intemporelle”.

In a couple of weeks Elmar and Rüdiger together composed the music for “Altered States”, which featured 80% of the songs they played at the concert. While working on it, the duo got inspiration from foreign landscapes, deserted and wide open spaces, which explains the cinematic impact of the outcome.

The title of this classic album is actually inspired by the same, well known movie with William Hurt. The music itself consists of seven intense and rather dark clouded ambient tracks with a few classic influences here and there. “Splendid Harmony” features a nice atmosphere with some vocal sounds and repetitive motifs. Overall, the grand sounding textural pieces also contain occasional ethnic rhythms.
“Mescalito Exit”, the final track on the album, is a dark, slightly foreboding soundscape.

For those looking for an exiting, cinematic recording, start searching for this gem.

Website: www.gleisberg.com

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Solitaire artist page