| Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook — Psychonavigation |
Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook — Psychonavigation
♠ One of the leading instigators of "ethno-trance," arguably the best of the new wave of ambient house artists.
Born: November 25, 1960 in Frankfurt, Germany as Peter Kuhlmann
Died: November 8, 2012
♠ Busy producer and bassist (Material, Golden Palominos) with a production sense that typically juggles rock, reggae, and improvisational foundations.
Bill Laswell born: February 12, 1955, Salem, Illinois, U.S.
Location: New York
Album release: 25 April 1994/May 9, 2006
Record Label: Subharmonic — SD7005-2 (US)/Fax +49-69/450464 — PW 13 (Germany)
Duration: 70:19
Tracks:
1 Psychic and U.F.O. Revelations in the Last Days — 38:46
2 Angel Tech — 10:17
3 Black Dawn — 21:16
Line-up / Musicians:
♠ Bill Laswell: sounds
♠ Pete Namlook: trautonium, sounds
♠ Robert Musso: programming
♠ Tracks 1 — 3 created at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York.
♠ All tracks arranged by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook.
CREDITS:
♠ Ernst Haas Cover Photo
♠ Bill Laswell Arranger, Composer, Main Personnel, Performer, Producer
♠ Thi-Linh Le Photography
♠ Layng Martine, Jr. Assistant Engineer, Program Assistant
♠ John T. Matarazzo Producer
♠ Tracy McKnight Material
♠ Robert Musso Engineer, Programming
♠ Pete Namlook Arranger, Composer, Main Personnel, Performer
♠ Aldo Sampieri Design, Layout Design
♠ Rob Soares Unknown Contributor Role
♠ Peter Wetherbee Ambience
♠ Graphics — SFX Lab, Inc.
Origin: Limited to 1000 copies.
Special thanks to:
♠ Elisabeth / Fabia / Kathrin
♠ Ludwig Rehberg of EMS
♠ Robert Musso
♠ Layng Martime
♠ Tracy McKnight of Material, Inc.
SUBHARMONIC RELEASE:
♠ Layout, Design — Aldo Sampieri
♠ Other [Axiom/ambient] — Bill Murphy, Peter Wetherbee
♠ Other [Material, Inc.] — Tracy McKnight
♠ Photography By [Cover Photographs] — Ernst Haas
♠ Photography By [Inside Photograph] — Thi-Linh Le
LIMITED EDITION BOX:
♠ Artwork — Ernst Haas, Thi-Linh Le
♠ Engineer [Assistant] — Layng Martine
♠ All photos courtesy of Maarten Mooijman (http://mmpicture.nl/).
Editorial Reviews:
♠ "Among the most prolific artists in contemporary music, Bill Laswell's imprint is on literally hundreds of albums...fusing the energy of punk with the bone-rattling rhythms of funk." — ALL MUSIC GUIDE
♠ With over 20 years experience as a touring musician and composer and nearly 300 albums to his credit, producer and bassist Bill Laswell has collaborated with some of the most illustrious names in music across all genres and boundaries, including Herbie Hancock, Mick Jagger, Laurie Anderson, Pharoah Sanders, Yoko Ono, Iggy Pop, The Last Poets, Buddy Miles, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Afrika Bambaataa, Tony Williams, Peter Gabriel and countless others. Psychonavigation, constructed by Pete Namlook (composer/creator of the Fax+49 label) and Laswell (creator/producer of the groundbreaking Axiom label) is an exploration of ambient underground psych. Laswell and Namlook join forces to produce the soundtrack for a journey through a telepathic mind. Endless soundscapes from Laswell's dubby bass, filled with drones and morphing fields, combine with Namlook's spheres to make the listener feel at one with the universe.
________________________________________________________________
Review by Jim Brenholts; Rating: ****½
♠ Psychonavigation is a trip and a half. Pete Namlook and Bill Laswell have created a set of sonic hallucinogens that permeate the psyche. These sequences and atmospheres are full of experimental sounds, strange samples, and overt space music riffs. There is nothing earthly about this music. The atmospheres are inhuman. The evocations are metallic and robotic. The flow, however, is smooth and fluid. Namlook and Laswell are visiting the ultimate oxymoron -- fluid metal. The answers are as mysterious as quicksilver itself. This is one of the best Namlook/Laswell collaborations. ♠ It will appeal to fans of Amani, Tales, and Dweller at the Threshold. It is essential space music. (www.allmusic.com)
♠ Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook bring together some strange ambient sounds to create this spacey music. Considered their best work to date.
♠ Over an hour of music that takes you beyond this planet. The prolific duo of Namlook and Laswell team up to create a mighty fusion of deep dark atmospheres and low dub pulsations. Variation in note choice and melodic contour seem to be intentionally held at a minimum by both musicians.
Code: SKU SKU21369
1 Psychic and U.F.O. Revelations in the Last Days — 38:46
2 Angel Tech — 10:17
3 Black Dawn — 21:16
Line-up / Musicians:
♠ Bill Laswell: sounds
♠ Pete Namlook: sounds
♠ Robert Musso: program
________________________________________________________________
PETE NAMLOOK
Artist Biography by Sean Cooper
♠ If most artists in contemporary electronica are like islands unto themselves, turning out tracks in relative anonymity, Pete "Namlook" Kuhlmann was a whole continent. A dizzyingly prolific composer who steadily built up an entire industry around his Frankfurt-based Fax label, Namlook's name was inextricably linked with the post-rave resurgence of ambient music, and many of his solo and collaborative recordings with the likes of Mixmaster Morris, Tetsu Inoue, Klaus Schulze, Bill Laswell, Richie Hawtin, Geir Jenssen, Dr. Atmo, Burhan Ocal, Atom Heart, Jonah Sharp, Charles Uzzell-Edwards, and David Moufang, among many others, number among the most lauded and influential in new ambient.
♠ Although Namlook got his start releasing quasi-new age (as Romantic Warrior) and hard trance (as Sequential, 4Voice, Escape, Deltraxx, and a host of others), he and his label became synonymous with new ambient after Fax began exclusively releasing the style shortly after the label formed in 1992. Fax helped give shape to ambient's new school by allowing the artists to freely experiment while making a living from their music. (Fax's label structure conferred the majority of its profits to its artists.) Countless Fax releases, particularly those dating from 1993 and 1994, are considered classics of contemporary electronic ambient, and while the label suffered a certain degree of repetition after the '90s, Fax remained one of the most important and influential German electronic music labels for years. Namlook was criticized for adopting a quality-over-quantity approach, but he succeeded in attracting a devoted, ravenous following that allowed him and his label to continue releasing new music. (Fax also expanded to included four Fax-related labels and two subsidiary labels, Rather Interesting and Headphone, run by Atom Heart and Higher Intelligence Agency's Bobby Bird, respectively.)
♠ Dreamfish Musically, Namlook drew most recognizably on the synthscapes of artists such as Klaus Schulze and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, combing the droning electronics of those artists with, depending on the project or collaborator, ethnic instrumentation (tabla, tambouri, oud), environmental samples (rain, voices, arriving and departing trains, wildlife), sweeping electronic treatments (the bubbly undercurrents of Dreamfish or the drifting synthetic landscapes of 2350 Broadway), and minimal acoustic and electronic rhythms (jungle, electro, techno, and trance). His collaborations arguably outdid his solo recordings, although a few of his solo works are among Fax's finest. ♠ Though hard to find, the two volumes of The Definitive Ambient Collection offer a good introduction to Namlook's early work. Namlook died on November 8, 2012, at the age of 51. (Total: over 135 albums; Solo: 43 albums).
Also:
♠ Sacred Dub: http://www.sacreddub.com/discography/bill-laswell-and-pete-namlook/psychonavigation/
♠ Abstract Logix: http://www.abstractlogix.com/
♠ INTERVIEW "Intuitive spontaneity" by Anil Prasad: http://www.innerviews.org/inner/laswell2.html
♠ All photos courtesy of Maarten Mooijman (http://mmpicture.nl/).
♠ SILENT-WATCHER: http://www.silent-watcher.net/billlaswell/
♠ M.O.D.: http://www.methodofdefiance.com/
________________________________________________________________
| Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook — Psychonavigation |
Bill Laswell & Pete Namlook — Psychonavigation
♠ One of the leading instigators of "ethno-trance," arguably the best of the new wave of ambient house artists.
Born: November 25, 1960 in Frankfurt, Germany as Peter Kuhlmann
Died: November 8, 2012
♠ Busy producer and bassist (Material, Golden Palominos) with a production sense that typically juggles rock, reggae, and improvisational foundations.
Bill Laswell born: February 12, 1955, Salem, Illinois, U.S.
Location: New York
Album release: 25 April 1994/May 9, 2006
Record Label: Subharmonic — SD7005-2 (US)/Fax +49-69/450464 — PW 13 (Germany)
Duration: 70:19
Tracks:
1 Psychic and U.F.O. Revelations in the Last Days — 38:46
2 Angel Tech — 10:17
3 Black Dawn — 21:16
Line-up / Musicians:
♠ Bill Laswell: sounds
♠ Pete Namlook: trautonium, sounds
♠ Robert Musso: programming
♠ Tracks 1 — 3 created at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York.
♠ All tracks arranged by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook.
CREDITS:
♠ Ernst Haas Cover Photo
♠ Bill Laswell Arranger, Composer, Main Personnel, Performer, Producer
♠ Thi-Linh Le Photography
♠ Layng Martine, Jr. Assistant Engineer, Program Assistant
♠ John T. Matarazzo Producer
♠ Tracy McKnight Material
♠ Robert Musso Engineer, Programming
♠ Pete Namlook Arranger, Composer, Main Personnel, Performer
♠ Aldo Sampieri Design, Layout Design
♠ Rob Soares Unknown Contributor Role
♠ Peter Wetherbee Ambience
♠ Graphics — SFX Lab, Inc.
Origin: Limited to 1000 copies.
Special thanks to:
♠ Elisabeth / Fabia / Kathrin
♠ Ludwig Rehberg of EMS
♠ Robert Musso
♠ Layng Martime
♠ Tracy McKnight of Material, Inc.
SUBHARMONIC RELEASE:
♠ Layout, Design — Aldo Sampieri
♠ Other [Axiom/ambient] — Bill Murphy, Peter Wetherbee
♠ Other [Material, Inc.] — Tracy McKnight
♠ Photography By [Cover Photographs] — Ernst Haas
♠ Photography By [Inside Photograph] — Thi-Linh Le
LIMITED EDITION BOX:
♠ Artwork — Ernst Haas, Thi-Linh Le
♠ Engineer [Assistant] — Layng Martine
Editorial Reviews:
♠ "Among the most prolific artists in contemporary music, Bill Laswell's imprint is on literally hundreds of albums...fusing the energy of punk with the bone-rattling rhythms of funk." — ALL MUSIC GUIDE
♠ With over 20 years experience as a touring musician and composer and nearly 300 albums to his credit, producer and bassist Bill Laswell has collaborated with some of the most illustrious names in music across all genres and boundaries, including Herbie Hancock, Mick Jagger, Laurie Anderson, Pharoah Sanders, Yoko Ono, Iggy Pop, The Last Poets, Buddy Miles, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Afrika Bambaataa, Tony Williams, Peter Gabriel and countless others. Psychonavigation, constructed by Pete Namlook (composer/creator of the Fax+49 label) and Laswell (creator/producer of the groundbreaking Axiom label) is an exploration of ambient underground psych. Laswell and Namlook join forces to produce the soundtrack for a journey through a telepathic mind. Endless soundscapes from Laswell's dubby bass, filled with drones and morphing fields, combine with Namlook's spheres to make the listener feel at one with the universe.
________________________________________________________________
Review by Jim Brenholts; Rating: ****½
♠ Psychonavigation is a trip and a half. Pete Namlook and Bill Laswell have created a set of sonic hallucinogens that permeate the psyche. These sequences and atmospheres are full of experimental sounds, strange samples, and overt space music riffs. There is nothing earthly about this music. The atmospheres are inhuman. The evocations are metallic and robotic. The flow, however, is smooth and fluid. Namlook and Laswell are visiting the ultimate oxymoron -- fluid metal. The answers are as mysterious as quicksilver itself. This is one of the best Namlook/Laswell collaborations. ♠ It will appeal to fans of Amani, Tales, and Dweller at the Threshold. It is essential space music. (www.allmusic.com)
♠ Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook bring together some strange ambient sounds to create this spacey music. Considered their best work to date.
♠ Over an hour of music that takes you beyond this planet. The prolific duo of Namlook and Laswell team up to create a mighty fusion of deep dark atmospheres and low dub pulsations. Variation in note choice and melodic contour seem to be intentionally held at a minimum by both musicians.
Code: SKU SKU21369
1 Psychic and U.F.O. Revelations in the Last Days — 38:46
2 Angel Tech — 10:17
3 Black Dawn — 21:16
Line-up / Musicians:
♠ Bill Laswell: sounds
♠ Pete Namlook: sounds
♠ Robert Musso: program
________________________________________________________________
PETE NAMLOOK
Artist Biography by Sean Cooper
♠ If most artists in contemporary electronica are like islands unto themselves, turning out tracks in relative anonymity, Pete "Namlook" Kuhlmann was a whole continent. A dizzyingly prolific composer who steadily built up an entire industry around his Frankfurt-based Fax label, Namlook's name was inextricably linked with the post-rave resurgence of ambient music, and many of his solo and collaborative recordings with the likes of Mixmaster Morris, Tetsu Inoue, Klaus Schulze, Bill Laswell, Richie Hawtin, Geir Jenssen, Dr. Atmo, Burhan Ocal, Atom Heart, Jonah Sharp, Charles Uzzell-Edwards, and David Moufang, among many others, number among the most lauded and influential in new ambient.
♠ Although Namlook got his start releasing quasi-new age (as Romantic Warrior) and hard trance (as Sequential, 4Voice, Escape, Deltraxx, and a host of others), he and his label became synonymous with new ambient after Fax began exclusively releasing the style shortly after the label formed in 1992. Fax helped give shape to ambient's new school by allowing the artists to freely experiment while making a living from their music. (Fax's label structure conferred the majority of its profits to its artists.) Countless Fax releases, particularly those dating from 1993 and 1994, are considered classics of contemporary electronic ambient, and while the label suffered a certain degree of repetition after the '90s, Fax remained one of the most important and influential German electronic music labels for years. Namlook was criticized for adopting a quality-over-quantity approach, but he succeeded in attracting a devoted, ravenous following that allowed him and his label to continue releasing new music. (Fax also expanded to included four Fax-related labels and two subsidiary labels, Rather Interesting and Headphone, run by Atom Heart and Higher Intelligence Agency's Bobby Bird, respectively.)
♠ Dreamfish Musically, Namlook drew most recognizably on the synthscapes of artists such as Klaus Schulze and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, combing the droning electronics of those artists with, depending on the project or collaborator, ethnic instrumentation (tabla, tambouri, oud), environmental samples (rain, voices, arriving and departing trains, wildlife), sweeping electronic treatments (the bubbly undercurrents of Dreamfish or the drifting synthetic landscapes of 2350 Broadway), and minimal acoustic and electronic rhythms (jungle, electro, techno, and trance). His collaborations arguably outdid his solo recordings, although a few of his solo works are among Fax's finest. ♠ Though hard to find, the two volumes of The Definitive Ambient Collection offer a good introduction to Namlook's early work. Namlook died on November 8, 2012, at the age of 51. (Total: over 135 albums; Solo: 43 albums).
Also:
♠ Sacred Dub: http://www.sacreddub.com/discography/bill-laswell-and-pete-namlook/psychonavigation/
♠ Abstract Logix: http://www.abstractlogix.com/
♠ INTERVIEW "Intuitive spontaneity" by Anil Prasad: http://www.innerviews.org/inner/laswell2.html
♠ All photos courtesy of Maarten Mooijman (http://mmpicture.nl/).
♠ SILENT-WATCHER: http://www.silent-watcher.net/billlaswell/
♠ M.O.D.: http://www.methodofdefiance.com/
________________________________________________________________