I remember first digital cameras. Everyone wanted to have one. "It'll be so much easier", they were saying, "taking as many pics as you want". Later of course, when everyone had it it was clear, taking as many photos as you want wasn't best idea. Billions of pointless photographs kept somewhere on CD's or even DVD's, on hard drives and in clouds. You'll never watch them again. So we slowly started to going back to analog systems to bring more soul to them. Not only with pics. With music also, that's why LP's are so popular again.
Do you know what the tape loop is? Do you have a single idea how recording studios or live act sound engineers were getting echo effect before digital era? Imagine yourself most laborious way. Imagine yourself a tape. Now forgot about cassette and reel to reel, imagine yourself a loop. Quite short loop of magnetic tape. Tape loop device was playing it constantly. One head was deleting sound from the media, other was recording it in real life and last one was playing what the previous recorded. Distance between the heads was changing delay. And again. And again. At some point you could take the deleting and recording heads off and get a loop in an electronic music meaning we know now.
That sounds like an idea for an ambient album isn't? Sascha Bachmann got it four years ago and he was developing it for that time to present his debut album, titled simply "Debut" just two weeks ago. Sascha is a professional drummer so he also knows ambient music needs bit different beat, more organic. So he recorded his own heart and used on the record... Effect is out of this world. I don't want to overuse word "organic" but it is probably best way to describe this album. Heartbeat counts every second, melodies are like a sound of blood going through the bloodstream. Everything is very natural and captivating, like when you falling asleep listening to your own body.
Last track is quicker and more disturbing but still fits the concept, like having a microphone inside you during the busy day. Amazing stuff!
Sascha performed this material live in his hometown Berlin and also in NY. On stage he really uses tape machines and reel to reels! He also uses Super 8 films for visualizations!
Debut was released on cloudy clear vinyl in a simple brown thick paper cover sleeve. And that's it. Simplicity. LP is pressed nicely, I like the weight of it. Whole issue gives that nice neat feeling. "Debut" is a great debut, really. If Sascha wanted to get the attention, he did. Now let's wait for his next move. I just hope it won't take another four years.
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