[saying] goodbye, (to what’s) gone forever, {as} faraway trains (are) “passing by” whilst missing deadlines.
Ulrich Schnuass has a massive collection of work, starting with ethereal 77 and various other monikers, moving on to self titled records that have continually and quietly rocked all of the EDM community to sleep after a long party. He’s our “unplugged”, the very essence of chill and quite often the provider of our most memorable music as a subculture. He’s found throughout mixes of all genres; his delicate work and profound production is omnipresent throughout what was in the past a very interestingly diverse format of electronic music, chill. He would, by many, be grafted into the overly pretentious format of IDM, or Intelligent Dance Music, which I have discussed before as a worthless and utterly miserable description of musical style. But his brilliant work has become a mainstay in modern EDM and for quite good reason. Though often times, his music is slightly dark, sometimes dreary and sometimes, downright depressing. But there are moments, even whole songs that are bright and happy, rooted in the difficult work of defining a perfect day. He is connected in many ways throughout electronic music, to other artists. Way Out West, and especially Nick Warren, often taps Ulrich for his unique sound. Ulrich’s tracks are found littered throughout Nick Warren’s library of mixes, notably GU030, Paris, disc 1, the Way Out West bonus disc to “Don’t Look Now” and GU024, Reykjavik, quite possibly the perfect DJ mix. I am absolutely sure an Ulrich Schnuass track has popped up somewhere in James Zabiela’s multitudinous recordings, I have no doubt. But Ulrich’s records, his lovely, brightly colored, downtempo projects are astounding in their gravity, their ability to pull even the most jaded into a spell. They have a unique power in turning long trips on the road or in the air, into self journeys, complete with walking around music.
Now I can only suggest listening to every single work he’s ever done as one would do episodes 4-6 of Star Wars; begin at the proper beginning, which for Ulrich is not his first release, but the first using his current, beautifully careful musical voice. “Far Away Trains Passing By” is his first record under his own name, followed closely by “A Strangely Isolated Place”. These two records are striking, beautiful collections of music, that have lovely texture and really, truly come through with a proper set of headphones. The headphones really shine with Ulrich as he uses panning and other stereo field effects to wonderful ends. There is motion and emotion throughout the works, with guitar like sounds, and lovely drum kits harking back to Ulrich’s drum n bass background as ethereal 77. In between and after these two releases, Ulrich produced numerous remixes, which, some have been compiled, while some have not. But of note, Ulrich’s remix of Sia’s “Breathe Me” Long-View’s brilliant “Will You Wait Here” & “Can’t Explain”, HRK’s “Loveworld”, Revtone by Justin Robertson and dozens of others. I highly recommend doing some hunting as his remixes are often the most creative re-imaginings of the song itself.
What Ulrich’s talent lies in his ability to take synthesis and create incredibly natural sounds. Often his synths are mistaken for guitar work and other string based instruments. Also his lush use of bass, often providing the entire low end of the track, where, in place of the traditional kick, is a scant, thin book end for the backbeat to keep its place. His sound is always incredibly clear, with qualities and space that are audible in the stereo field. Most interestingly, his studio skills were put to the test with an early master of his last record, entitled “Goodbye”. At the time an early copy got out onto the internets. Ulrich sent out many messages asking for the promotional copy to not be listened to as “Stars”, the lead single off of the record, had some compression “pumping” issues. Having listened to both versions, I understand what he was talking about, but I was surprised that was his only concern. In previous posts, I have mentioned his incredibly profound live work and I do strongly recommend you edify yourself regarding this singular producer, this genius of the elemental style of EDM, known quite simply, as chill.
_backchat.
P.S. I have also mentioned his “Missing Deadlines” remix record. Truly brilliant and a must have.
