ALLERSEELEN CD NEUSCHWABENLAND
The DoLP Neuschwabenland with various additional songs will come out in December 2006.
Songs: Einstieg, Mit fester Hand, Nornar Nagli, Gläserne Kugel, Panzergarten, Cordon Dorado, König, Isländische Umarmungen, Idun, Hartung, Julmond, Neuschwabenland, Blonder Wein, Wiederkehr
The disc begins with what I experience as a descent. I picture a flight through clouds, like at the beginning of the film "Triumph of the Will". I hear the voice of our pilot say, "Out the window to your left is our destination, New Swabia. The temperature on the ground this morning is 34 degrees. Thank you for flying Neuschwaben Airlines. Enjoy your stay!" On the ground, ice mountains of madness glitter and shine. Airfields full of flying discs dot the landscape. The silence is nearly deafening. This little daydream dalliance is not so far fetched. "Neuschwabenland" was the name given by Germany to part of the Antarctic she claimed her own in the summer of 1938. By February 1939, German flags marked out that claim. The rest is cause for much mystery and speculation. Perfect material for an Allerseelen album! The album artwork is gorgeous, featuring an icy, oceanic atmosphere of deep blue green. The poetry used
in the album is even more beguiling; including works by Hermann and Ninon Hesse, and Kadmon. (Kadmon being another name of Gerhard from Allerseelen.) Each song reminds me of some little adventure in the wonderland of ice. I enjoy visualizations of German submarines and flying discs, stumbling upon H.P. Lovecraft's Old Ones. The experience of the music is both organic and metallic. The term "post industrial folk" makes a lot of sense for this album. If Einsturzende Neubauten moved out to the country, built
themselves a hof, and learned to make mead, they'd probably sound a lot like this. The choice of poetry and quality of music here are impeccable. The interweaving of the two is unlike any album I can think of in recent history. The only album I've ever experienced as being this immediately powerful, emotional and uplifting was Blood Axis' "Gospel of Inhumanity". Where Gospel of Inhumanity was thunder and fury, Neuschwabenland is more of a
graceful force. It is like watching pieces of glaciers break off and plunge into the sea. There are no "bad" songs on the album, and I did find personal favorites, even among the treasures. The ethereal and haunting "Einstieg" which opens the album evokes a feeling I wish I could feel always. A sense of emboldened expectancy. Assured, elated, cheerful, and calm. "Mit fester Hand", which features a poem by Hermann Hesse is also personally very meaningful to
me; a song I keep buried within me like a pearl, to keep strong when my spirits are flagging. "Nornar Nagli" makes me daydream about a race of lost women, like something out of an Ian Cameron novel. Maybe they are seven feet tall. With crazy green hair, and they cackle like witches. The rune symbol naudiz
is carved into a huge spike at the bottom of the world, around which they build their town. If you are lost or hungry you can find them, and maybe, if they are in a good mood, they will help you. Otherwise they may throw you on the fire and eat you up! Of course, I am weaving tales here, but the song is very eerie, and fun to make up stories about! "Glaserne Kugel", featuring a poem by Ninon Hesse is another amulet of encouragement. A very energizing and buoyant song! I am not sure if the song "Hartung" is based on the
painter Hans Hartung, but it sounds very like one of his paintings. Energetic, solid, and playful. "Julmond" is another favorite, because of its dark,
shimmering quality. It too is full of liveliness. I can picture young wolves, tumbling around, playing in the snow. "Blonder Wein" is bittersweet. Emotive and piercingly beautiful. When I listen to it over and over, I find
myself swaying gently back and forth, thinking of a million things. Memories and dreams. Wide open highways and friends who have passed on. Raindrops
rolling down the window. Such a terrible, wonderful piece of music. "Wiederkehr" is our captain's voice, coming faintly then clearly, back over the loudspeaker, reminding us to fasten our seatbelts and make sure we have secured our belongings in the overhead bin. We are soon to be off the ground. Back into the clouds. Back into our lives. "We are now leaving Neuschwabenland. Please visit again soon!" April 5, 2006. By Ginnie Moon. 10 of 10. http://www.lunar-hypnosis.com/Dziwaczna plyta, z jednej strony dosc jasna i klarowna, z drugiej jednak podszyta brudem i powierzchownoscia. Allerseelen pochodza z Austrii, sa bardzo plodni, i posluguja sie moze nie oryginalna, lecz na pewno charakterystyczna forma muzyki elektroniczno-przemyslowego pochodzenia. Generalnie "Neuschwabenland" wyglada mniej wiecej tak - wez ciekawy elektroniczny motyw - wlasny lub samplowany -, zrób z niego hipnotyczna petle, i na jego tle mów zmeczonym glosem po niemiecku, wydajac jednoczesnie przeciagle, drapiace dzwieki na akustycznej gitarze, cymbalach, bebnach, itp. Niby banalne, a jednak w efekcie to niesamowicie wciaga, momentami porywa, i napewno zapada w pamiec. Tu rzadza paradoksy - bazowe motywy na kolejnych kompozycjach sa pozornie rytmiczne i aktywne, lecz przypieczetowane smetnymi wokalizami staja sie statyczne i spruchniale. I wlasnie w tym upatruje sedna tej plyty, na szoku termicznym emocji i atmosfery stechlizny, mechanicznej rytmiki stojac w miejscu, i ogólnego zapachu sypialni domoroslych okultystów. A zatem jeszcze raz - wciaga, ma specyficzna won pieczarkarni, i w dwóch kawalkach korzysta z sampli nieodzalowanego U96. http://www.postindustry.org/archive.php?id=1977
Gelungenes Gesamtkunstwerk. Mit Neuschwabenland schuf der österreichische Künstler Kadmon sein bisher eingängigstes Allerseelen-Album. Was zuvor von avantgardistisch-experimentellen Soundscapes geprägt war, ist mittlerweile ungewöhnlich harmonisch klingenden elektronischen, sogenannten fin de siècle military pop songs gewichen, bei denen sich die düsteren Ambient- Klangmalereien mit monoton stampfenden, wuchtigen Rhythmen und fast schon säuselnd hypnotischen Melodien und gelegentlich eingestreuten Streicher-Samples verbinden. Dazu interpretiert Kadmon neben eigenen auch Texte von Hermann und Ninon Hesse, läßt Oskar Werner (Fahrenheit 451) in Blonder Wein Rainer Maria Rilke rezitieren und ließ sich selbst bei König musikalisch von Kirlian Cameras Motionless inspirieren. Abgerundet wird das gelungene Gesamtkunstwerk durch ein wunderschön von Salt gestaltetes Artwork. (Zillo 9/2000)
Neuschwabenland ist ein Meisterwerk. Der Titel wird wieder einmal für Unruhe sorgen, und wenn man die Assoziationen des pfiffigen wilden Kerls aus Friaul-Julisch-Venetien nicht kennt, so ist dies durchaus verständlich. Neuschwabenland ist ein Schmankerl. Die Stimmungen reichen von stahlgrünen Klanglandschaften, verruchten Momentaufnahmen südamerikanischer Rotlichtbezirke und lasziven Tangorhythmen bis hin zu harschem Military Pop. König ist eine eigenwillige Interpretation von Kirlian Cameras Motionless, Blonder Wein und Cordon Dorado könnten in jeder Tangolounge laufen, und mit Hartung findet sich eine gewaltige Technoversion eines Tracks von der CD Gotos=Kalanda wieder. Eine CD für Träumer. (Black 21/2000) www.blackmagazin.com
Some years ago Allerseelen was known for a raw, industrial sound, but things have changed in the camp of Kadmon. His style now can be described as ' fin de siècle military pop'. Neuschwabenland is a perfectly produced album. The songs have nice melodies, original rhythms and sounds and a special atmosphere, making me think of ice and glass. One of the songs, 'König', is inspired by the track 'Motionless' from Kirlian Camera, a band where more songs on this album remind me of, although Allerseelen shows more emotions. One of the highlights is the irresistible title track. http://www.funprox.com/judgment/review.asp?show=114
il miglior disco degli allerseelen, punto e basta. potrei fermarmi qui e avrei detto tuttol. il migliore, veramente. per tutti i fan del gruppo austriaco di gerhard, ma non solo. neuschwabenland ci ripropone il gruppo in versione meno harsh e piu atmosferica. piu belli i suioni, migliore la produzione. i brani sono tutti bellissimi. come al solito l´artowrk e molto curato ed in linea con le produzioni precedenti anche se la copertina e leggermente diversa da quanto ci si potrebbo aspettare. il booklet ricalca lo stile a cui siamo abituati, tra ghiacciai e gelide acque in un atmosfera davvero glaciale. l´opera e composta da 14 brani per una durata totale di 70 minuti. si parte con l´introduttiva einstieg, misteriosa e cupa nella sua ossessiva melodia e si prosegue con mit fester hand, un brano come solo gerhard sa creare, basato su un poema di hermann hesse. troviamo poi nornar nagli e panzergarten gia edite sul 7" que ha preceduto l´uscita del cd. la prima novita si fa ascoltare col brano gläserne kugel dal sound qaue definirei quasi easy-listening ma pur sempre nelle stile tipico di allerseelen. ma le sorprese non finiscono qui, anzi. il brani könig col suo incedere quasi etnico si ispira a motionless dei kirlian camera ed e une dei pezzi piu belli ed originali dell´intera opera. e poi ancora idun e neuschwabenland che sanno incantare con la loro poesia tra ritmi industriali, voci misteriose e note di pianoforte. il cd si chiude con wiederkehr, definita dallo stesso gerhard come industrial dancefloor, che riprende la melodia di einstieg in vortice ritmico frenetico. da segnalare la presenza di hartung e julmond, due brani gia presenti in gotos=kalanda qui riproposti in interessanti versioni arricchite. complimenti! www.geocities.com/raunend
I remember Allerseelen as a rather harsh ritual-industrial project, and exciting enough when that sort of music was a novelty to me. Parallel to the development of my own musical tastes, allerseelen has also matured and developed and mellowed, although the new material recognisably retains gerhard´s unique and distinctive signature. Neuschwabenland is a sophisticated and polished electronic soundscape with good melodies and insistent military beats. Its title refers to the alleged historical ambition to claim Antarctica for Germany. Recorded in 1999, the songs are conceveid as fin de siècle military pop songs. The impressive filmic intro leads into an album of suspense, mystery and dreaminess - particularly on blonder wein - and maintains its momentum throughout. (rik) www.fluxeuropa.com
neuschwabenland takes its name from the part of antarctica claimed by germany in a mysterious expedition which took place between 1938 and 1939. appropriately, the cover is adorned with oronteus finaeus´1531 map of that last great, unexplored continent, superimposed over its modern counterpart. a chilling, deep blue-green background completes this profusion of polar pulchritude. it is not only the packaging that possesses the texture of ice, however. einstieg guides the listener down into a shimmering world of subterranean glacial caverns. one´s consciousness is mesmerised by siren-like strings and metallic chimes, that glisten like frozen stalactites in this palace of ice. mit fester hand doesn´t so much break the spell as transform it. strident stabs of bass and brass cut through a biting arctic wind which carries the silvery sound of a glockenspiel over the snowbound landscape. kadmon intones hermann hesse´s words with a resoluteness worthy of the title. nornar nagli is followed by gläserne kugel, a sophisticated upbeat number which veers toward pop territory in terms of its melody and construction. the piece dies away in a whirl of phasing, psychedelic synths, and is replaced by the harsher strains of panzergarten. this gelid love-song constitutes one of the outstanding moments of the cd. cordon dorado soars upwards through the blizzard, circling like a falcon above the chill conditions below. what manifests itself as a mental image conveyed by the tango style rhythm of this brief instrumental appears as a lyrical motif in its successor, könig. the shrill cries of a bird of prey introduce a composition that mixes a rock steady bass-line and a jazz tinged drum pattern with electronic flourishes. the addition of string and brass sections imbues the whole with a sense of subdued tension which acts as the perfect vehicle for kadmon´s pondering, poetic lyrics. this tenor is also evident on the next two tracks, the ernst jünger inspired isländische umarmungen and idun. the latter utilises avant-garde piano playing alongside dark ambient soundscapes to create a slowly uncoiling atmosphere. after re-workings of hartung and julmond from the 1994 release gotos=kalanda comes the title track. it is perhaps this work that best fits the allerseelen main-man´s description of neuschwabenland as a collection of fin-de-siècle military pop songs. kadmon and sabine perform a brumal duet against a backdrob of pulsating bass and sweeping reverberations. a crystal clear glockenspiel weaves its way through the tundra, before yielding to the sheer beauty of blonder wein. wonderfully expressive violins at last provide a respite from the cold, whilst kadmon whispers a toast to "that sacred order that leads and ordains us, that finds us and unites us". but, everything recurs, and things are finally brought fully circle via the pounding wiederkehr. as always with allerseelen, one is left feeling enthused and invigorated by a brilliant listening experience. with concepts and music of this quality, kadmons looks set to remain at the forefront of cutting-edge sounds for years to come. (Judas Kiss, England)
In atlantisch-eisigem Blau zeigt sich Allerseelens Hommage an das antarktische Gralsgebiet. Titel wie König, Panzergarten und Cordon Dorado unterhalten mit argentinischer Bordellmusik und technosophischem Military Pop. Die Inspirationen, die Kadmon von seinen Musen bezieht, weisen den Weg in zunehmend femininere Klangwelten, in denen Isländische Umarmungen und Iduns Äpfel gedeihen. (Kshatriya)
se stirb und werde mi aveva catturato attraverso le sue idee, emozioni e ritmi vitali, la nuova prova ad ampio respiro di kadmon trasmette un senso di stupore ed intrigante curiosità gia a partire dall´effficace lay-out di cui si fregia. questa neuschwabenland, identificata con il continente antartico (efficacemente ritratto sulla stupenda copertina del compact) colpisce recondite fantasie e sensazioni di gelida utopia legate ad argomenti in parte da considerarsi tabu, non tanto perche inerenti a chissa quali trame "scorrette" quanto rispetto alla loro effettiva norietà, ma comunque capaci di trasportaci lontano, verso mondi di sogno e territori circondati da fredde nebbie perenni. quattordici movimenti di lucido allerseelen sound per portare alla luce temi quali l´utopia del progetto nueva germania in paraguay, le suggestioni dello scrittore cileno miguel serrano, le parole prese a prestito dallo scomparso runendichter islandese sveinbjörn beinteinsson (gia famoso grazie al documento sonoro edda voluto da david tibet), o gli struggenti versi di lotta e amore ambientati nel giardino dei panzer di vienna. e sempre un piacere occuparsi di progetti cosi pieni di idee e vitalita, e neuschwabenland, forte di queste sue arie da military pop messe in moto da cadenze marziali e ritmi da dancefloor sembra non voler sbagliare un solo colpo. buon per noi. da segnalare l´uscita del 7" dal vinile grigio in edizione limitata nornar nagli/ panzergarten che ha effettivamente preceduto neuschwabenland cosi come accadde per il piccolo vinile blue ghiaccio dedicato a leni riefenstahl rispetto a stirb und werde, e se quest´ultimo con i suoi toni rosso fuoco sembrava voler evocare le pulsioni vitali del ciclo cosmico ordinato dalla ruota dell´eterna morte e rinascita, neuschwabenland, con le sue distese di ghiacci eterni si carica di significati ben riflessi nell´idea di un ordine statico e monumentale, preservato dalla corruzione grazie ad assiomi di indiscutibile immutabilita del sentire perpetuo. un pellegrinaggio sonoro attraverso gli infiniti deserti ghiacciati del continente antartico in compagnia di uno dei piu valenti musicisti della nuova avanguardia elettronica europea. ma se neuschwabenland vi avra catturato cosi come ha fatto con il sottoscritto, bene, la prossima uscita del concept-album venezia promette di non retrocedere di un solo passo la bellezza e la forza espressiva di questa band dal cuore avventuroso. altamente consigliato. (Marble Moon 16)
preannunciato dall´excellente 7" nornar nagli/panzergarten di cui dissi la primavera scorsa, neuschwabenland sigla il quinto capitolo di allerseelen. un apripista, il singolo, i cui brani vengono ospitati anche nell´album, come di frequente si fa in ambito pop. si tratta d´altronde, e lo stesso kadmon a sottolinearlo con felice intuizione nel booklet, di pop songs militari di fine secolo, ma la definizione non deve allarmare ipotizzando chissa quali fruibile concessioni. l´evoluzione di allerseelen e stata costante e coerente, e neuschwabenland e forse piu accessibile di passati lavori ma anche di una forza comunicativa senza precedenti, un approdo a cui eravamo tutto sommato preparati alla luce delle ultime, ottime, tracce che di allerseelen s´erano raccolte. diviso tra crepuscolari, ma spesso tecnologicamente ferite, arie epico-romantiche, einstieg, könig, ispirata da motionless di kirlian camera, hartung, blonder wein, wiederkehr, e canzoni possibili, gläserne kugel, nel solco della mitgliore elettrowave eighties, la brumosa mit fester hand, la schiacciante panzergarten, la strizzatina d´occhio a the robots die isländische umarmung, l´ipnotica title track, la marcia d´automi di julmond, neuschwabenland coglie appieno quell´essenza sottilmente persuasiva che e propria delle military songs. (Blow Up)