Ulrich Schnauss, Classic or Dud?

I think he's he's awesome! I am really suprised how many people here dislike this kind of thing.

It's much better than that. I love this guy so much. I think I prefer his sound to that of his influences.

A side-by-side song comparison will reveal that he's much farther away from his influences than the haters make him out to be.

Yeah, yeah, I need to get this. Or I'll be excluded from Sonic Cathedral, they'll never let me in the door again if I can't prove my shoegaze credentials.

The title track of the new one is possibly the most gorgeous thing he's ever done.

The title track of the new one is possibly the most gorgeous thing he's ever done.

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For all the greatness that his current work is -- Herr Schnauss likely ain't hit his zenith yet -- his early work is its yang of yawn. A Schaussophile pal gave me a ton of early rips and boots and I dunno whatall, but it's just kinda formulaic as far as my ears have a say innit. I guess I'm bound to be castigated for saying that by folks who know a lot more about EM than myself, but eh.

Sorry to check some of the posters further up this thread, but how can you dislike this stuff (A Strangely Isolated Place)? There's no way this is anything other than utterly brilliant. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING SONG. I can't decide which one to put on a compilation for my friend, although it's been narrowed down to 'On My Own', 'Letter From Home' or 'Clear Day'.

Early days yet, but this might be top 5 for the decade so far.

I will have to second that the new album is a total fucking mind-blower. It gets a little too MBV sometimes, but seriously it is just owning me. Warm fuzzies all day long.

I put up an MP3 at PTW: http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=846

It gets a little too MBV sometimes

You're fired.

That said, I think me now looking for the new MBV would be like me looking for 'the new Tolkien' or whatever.

If it's a literary masterpiece you're after, you could do worse than reading/re-reading Tristram Shandy. Meanwhile, Ulrich Schnauss, whilst not a master of the crossed-wires feedback storm like Shields (a method that has perhaps a more mysterious, subliminal effect upon the listener), is approximating the dream-pop ideal in a more convincing manner than almost anyone I've ever heard. It mines a different, less kinetic/dancy seam to WFANFC, for instance, but Schnauss' music uses its extended length to reach and then sustain ever-higher plateaux of micro-managed sonic bliss.

Underwhelmed by the new one - just more of the same, and I think two was enough for me. The vocals don't add enough, in fact there's something about the tone and the processing that makes them sound really insipid.

The "Little 15" mix might be my favourite thing of his.

Louis to what extent do you think that the music that most transports you to plateaux of sonic bliss conforms to a certain style - not genre, but at a lower level. Do you think there might be certain styles of melody or chord progression, say, that intrinsically appeal to you? That there might be other bands engaged in micro-management and all the other things that you're after, but who are working with melodic forms that don't push your buttons?

Now THAT'S an interesting question.

ok i'll give it its own thread...

First, to answer your question re: Schnauss,

Ledge, I really do think there might be certain ways of progressing chord structure that appeal to me more than others. The confluence of different chords atop one another is even more interesting; this is what Schnauss does brilliantly. Differently melodic and textural synth lines create sonic richness, and this sonic richness is progressed in a very satisfying manner; the progressions and flow often pertain to a major/minor/suspended chord confusion (there's a method to it I'm sure, but one I can't describe), and this emotional fragility is, I find, highly stimulating for the responsive mind. There might well be other bands engaged in micro-management whose concerns are more rhythmical or minimalist, whom I might like less, but I'd need to hear more. You say you're an Autechre fanboy; they're an act I'd really like to check out.

WHO MAKES THE NAZIS?

The "Little 15" mix might be my favourite thing of his.

^^ I like it a lot too, mostly because the "Little 15" instrumentation is probably the weakest spot on Music for the Masses and Ulrich's mix makes it fantastic. I wouldn't call it my favorite thing he's done, though.

I have a really hard time describing his music in terms of emotion. He doesn't do many songs that I feel like I can describe with emotional adjectives. Words like "pretty" even "beautiful" come to mind, but only a few of his tracks get described as "sad" or "joyful".

nah. but I kinda like it, for that reason. like BOC without the whole "oooooo this is spooky tape music, maybe there's a GHOST in the room!" element

it's p much direct shoegazing ecstasy, sunny-day melancholy unfiltered

but then i guess there are songs like 'medusa' that could have sparked entire movements of michael bay electronica on their own (but didn't)

I picked up one of his CDs for a buck at a charity shop and it's really gorgeous

ok I got ASIP now and yeah this is very good, definitely better than Far Away Trains

amazed this man hasn't made a mint in soundtrack work

This reminds me. I bought an album he was involved in recently, played it once, then filed it somewhere. Can't remember who or what it was called though. Shit. Far Away Trains is so good. The rest of his stuff is just rehashing the same feeling. You probably don't need more than 5-10 songs of his to experience the entirety of his range.

and that was easy to find, thanks Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/Ulrich-Schnauss-Jonas-Munk-Passage/release/9725721 - This is the album. It's decent but not great.

Something new on his Bandcamp page

Free?

name your price isn't ... well, if you want, I guess, sure.

this Synthwave thing is pretty okay