Reviews

GUNTER ADLER ­ DOUCHES DAMES (3″CDR by 1000Füssler)

After reading the press text that comes with this release, I must admit I still have not much idea what it is about. It was originally intended for a sound installation and uses field recordings from ancient indoor swimming pool in Brussels. The text also mentions something about the opening, a live performance and a soundtrack, but Gunter Adler lost me there. Adler is perhaps best known as a member of Groenland Orchester (together with G. Reznicek), and later with Augsburger Tafelconfect and solo as Adler (which is not his real name). The three pieces on this release are made of highly processed field recordings, of which we no longer recognize the origins. Gliding tones, sine wave like, objects that fall to the ground and sound effects working overtime. This is quite a nice, sweet, short and highly enjoyable release, for those who love their microsound to be much more free and not tied to the strict conventions of that scene. Nice indeed.

Vital Weekly / FdW

Douches Dames is a blithe confection of field recordings culled from the innards of an ancient indoor pool in Brussel’s of the same name. Today, a spot of plastic surgery has transformed the swimming pool an Art Nouveau that, among other things, plays host to the eclectic art laboratory Bains::Conective. Adler, himself an experimenter with sounds synthetic and otherwise, originally conceived this work as an installation piece, which was accompanied by the trapezoidal patterns of visual artist Isabelle Rouquette. What one finds on this, the ensuing audio document, are hyptatonic scales and long­form sustained tonalities that purse a droninghalo of sound. While at first it sounds tightly sequenced, adventitious elements do appear, merge,and drift across the sound­field, creating a  breezy forward motion. The atmospherics of the second work, meanwhile, give rise to a sinking feeling, as though a sudden change in air pressure has occurred. While remaining in a similar cloud­space on the third and final piece, impulsive fluctuations bring it closer to an air of frenetic motion. These persistent changes, conjoined with some perceptive processing and satisfying synthesis, result in a short work that is shadowy and precise in its rendering of the ravages of time. Max Schaefer / Tokafi, January 2009″Hallo Herr Adler ich hab Sie im Fernsehen gesehen, es hat mir gut gefallen” (Gagarin Records)Flipped­out double­sided maxi­pop from Jürgen Hall’s alter ego, Gunter Adler, who appears to have benefited considerably from all those singing lesson with Holger Czukay. Serving up supper club entertainment for people who aren’t very hungry or at the very least have to watch what they eat. Hall scores a few sneaky political points for his insinuating delivery on the strutting “Follow Me” and the fey “Your Destiny”, although quite what’s happening on “Schwarzes Latex” is anybody’s guess. Probably best just to knod and smile and start backing towards the door.

Ken Hollings THE WIRE (UK) 07 2006

KLANGKRIEG / GUNTER ADLER (split LP by Staubgold, 2002)

Another record from that nice, incestious Hamburg music movement, a fine split LP between Gunter Adler and Klangkrieg. Adler is the alter ego of Jurgen Hall who is together with Reznicek a member of Groenland Orchester. That orchestra is up many electronic pop alleys but in his solo work Adler goes out to the world of experimentalism. He plays around with analogue synths and concrete sounds in a partly serious and partly funny way. Quite academic on one hand, but always with a twist… Vital WeeklyGagarinrecords – Release InfoOn his first Gagarin release, Gunter Adler, formerly known as the vicious violinist of Groenlandorchester, created a soil­resisting electronic razor­record in his search for Miss Amanda Lear’s true gender. He didn’t even need to pay bounties for the cover girls who hefetched from Paris Moulin Rouge. While unpacking the goods, Gunter was suddenly overwhelmed by two hungry hyenas that he would never get rid of again. Hypnotized by the new sound they asked him for a hot bath in order to restore their purity and get access to the Jyrgen Hall­of­Fame. This record tastes like dry Martini, you can listen to it before, after and during bathing.

STAUBGOLD 31LP / 801670020417

KLANGKRIEG / GUNTER ADLER , Split LP

Exciting split album by Hamburg’s finest noise makers… KLANGKRIEG have been founded in 1987 by Felix Knoth and Tim Buhre from Hamburg, Germany. In futuristic tradition the group processes the big city noise and the whispering of power lines into electroacoustic compositions which are documented on digital and analog records. GUNTER ADLER is the alter ego of Jyrgen Hall, together with Reznicek member of Hamburg’s dada pop super group Groenland Orchester, here with pieces on this split album show his experimental and scientific side in full effect.