Doombient; Berlin School Electronic
Latest: Havoc (2024)
Frozen Radios (2000)
Frozen Radios begins to demonstrate that ['ramp] have a penchant for the dark ambient sounds of Klaus Schulze's Cyborg or Tangerine Dream's Zeit. On the back cover, they inform us to "File Under: Electronic Industrial Ambient". And that's quite accurate, except the sequencers are still going full bore here, so you're never too far from the friendly confines of the Berlin School. Another highly recommended album for fans of the genre.
---9/20/13
Nodular (1998)
Regular readers of my reviews know that I'm quite fond of the Berlin School of electronic music as founded by Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Atmospheric keyboards that give way to blazing sequencers, choral mellotron tapes (likely sampled in Ramp's case), and melodic synthesizer lines (and even better if there's guitar which Ramp unfortunately doesn't employ) will blow me away every time. Instant mental movie soundtrack music. Ramp were part of the original renaissance of the movement that gained quite a bit of traction in the late 1990s (especially in the UK and The Netherlands) with Radio Massacre International, AirSculpture, and Redshift leading the charge. Ramp were rare in that they were from the namesake country. Certainly Germany had support of the style within, but mainly from various individual synthesists like Bernd Kistenmacher and Mario Schonwalder (and owner of the influential Manikin label). So Ramp were indeed unique given they were a group effort.
Ramp originally started as a trio, and the synchronicity of ideas is apparent. There were (and are) a ton of solo electronic musicians, but many of those sound monolithic to these ears. The best acts, like the ones I mentioned above, feature at least 3 performers if not more. Later, the band changed their sound to what they call "doombient" which I hope to hear one day as well, though I'm not entirely convinced it's a style I'll embrace. Hardcore EM followers no doubt are already very familiar with Ramp.
The lineup on Nodular is:
Frank Makowski: sampling, sequencing, electronics, loops
Stephen Parsick: electronics, sequencing, rhythm programming
Lambert Ringlage: electronics, micro composers, tapes
Martina Fantar: voice on "before the storm"
Martina's atmospheric voice is positively enchanting in this setting.
All the tracks are good, but the 19 minute 'Phasenverzerrung' is absolutely brilliant. If it doesn't lay you out on the first try, then there's a better than average chance this style isn't for you.
---4/9/11
4/9/11 (new entry)
I too love Berlin School EM but don't you worry that the "doombient" sound isn't up to snuff... it is! I've got their first doombient cd (it comes in a metal tin and is a numbered limited edition with your number printed on the disc AND STAMPED INTO THE METAL CAN!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, its very dark and at times scary but its still [ramp] and well worth checking out!
Thanks Bill for the comment. It's good to hear it's worth checking out as I probably will now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for kindly mentioning ['ramp]'s work here -- I'd like to point out, though, that ['ramp] celebrated the 20th anniversary of their very first live concert last year by releasing "synchronize or die" on CD (for more info, please refer to https://doombientmusic.bandcamp.com/album/synchronize-or-die). "SoD" will be followed by a release on 2x12" in February 2018 (check https://www.adansoniarecords.de/releases/).
ReplyDelete['ramp]'s latest release "no sleep 'til wilmersdorf" is due for release in May 2018.
Both albums are firmly rooted in Berlin School territory (or Bielefeld School, as I like to call it).