What if a handful of specific genre-defining releases seemed to have already said everything that could have been said? What if a strong suspicion remained that there must be more to be found and more to be explored in depth? Bernhard Wöstheinrich (TaboTago, centrozoon) and Stephen Parsick (['ramp]) were facing this very question when they joined forces to cross the Rubycon once more and embark on a journey deep into the still uncharted territories of floating synth ostinatos and mellow choirs, as vague as a mirage.
Having known each other for more than twenty years, Stephen and Bernhard eventually decided it was about time to collaborate. In their own right, either of them has a profound background and reputation in what is commonly called Berlin School. Yet, they have never felt quite satisfied with creating yet another interpretation of this style but, instead, they have been striving for nothing less than a bravura piece.
As much as this release clearly is a treat for die-hard fans of the eerie and krautily spooky sound of 1970s Berlin, it is also a statement of current creative musicianship and of an advanced level of knowledge of how to create music that, on the one hand, is firmly rooted in tradition and, on the other, still has validity and purpose in our very time.
credits
released April 27, 2022
composed and performed by bernhard wöstheinrich, berlin, and by stephen parsick at dachgeschoss borgholzhausen.
mixed, engineered, and produced by stephen parsick between january and december 2021.
mastered by markus reuter
bernhard wöstheinrich: keyboards, virtual synthesizer, sequencer
stephen parsick: mellotron, arp odyssey mk. 1, arp pro dgx, elka string ensemble, compact phasing a, roland ph 830 phase shifter, solton and roland tape delays, akg and klark teknik spring reverbs.
brandenburg gate sharpie pen doodle by stephen parsick
Originally founded in the spring of 1996. The name refers to the Dutch word "de ramp" which means "disaster" or
"catastrophe".
Between 1997 and 2003, ['ramp] released a string of albums and played a couple of concerts in the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany before Parsick went entirely solo in 2009.
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