Hello,
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. "... ......N-Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Pete Namlook (born 25 November 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann [phon koolman] in Frankfurt, Germany, died on 8 November 2012) was an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer., the extremely prolific Pete Namlook (1960-2012) was one of the high priests of new-school ambient, ie. ambient techno, trance, lounge and other related dance-music spinoffs. In its 20 year history his record label Fax Records released some of the definitive albums in these sub-genres and Namlook stands alongside a handful of other names such as The Orb, Biosphere and Mixmaster Morris as one of the originators of ambient's resurgence and reinvention via dance music in the late 80's and early 90's.
Intriguingly, he often favoured the sounds of analogue synthesisers over digital and - alongside fellow German e-musician Oliver Lieb - was reputed to have one of the most extensive collections of classic analogue equipment in Europe. And although he downplayed the linage, like many of his new-school peers his music has some of its roots in old-school electronica as varied as Brian Eno, psy rockers Pink Floyd, and Krautrock icons like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream.
But Namlook was no imitator. He deepened and refined the sound of his predecessors with an injection of fresh ideas from the dance world, coupled with fine musicianship honed from many years of playing rock and jazz. In a 2007 interview with e-music magazine Slices he actually made a point of distancing his music from the conceptual influence of Eno particularly:
"You have to differentiate quite clearly between ambient in a techno sense, and on the other hand Brian Eno, a purely conceptual thing. I only knew of a collaboration between Brian Eno and Cluster [the German band], and him with Roxy Music. I only bought his ambient stuff later. Ambient as Eno defines it...is more or less musical wallpaper. It stays in the background and serves the environment rather than saying something about itself. In my definition of ambient, which has nothing in common with Eno's definition, it's about a journey, intense emotions that need to be transported - environmental music, jazz, ethno - depending on what project I'm working on".
The genesis of Fax Records
Although he had long dreamed of making a career from ambient electronica, in Fax Records' early days he was mainly pursuing a dance floor-oriented direction and releasing 12-inch vinyl singles to a warm reception from sectors of Europe's club scene.
But Namlook soon became dismayed at other artists' appropriation of the Frankfurt "hard trance" sound (developed through his genre-defining 4 Voice project). Thankfully his ambient B-sides to these singles - in hindsight a brilliant strategy - were also creating plenty of interest. Within a few years of the label's inception he had set about focusing Fax almost entirely on ambient and downtempo styles.
Up to his death in 2012 Namlook released an enormous number of solo and collaborative albums of widely varying quality both under his own name and various other project monikers. Collectors should be aware that many CD's were very limited pressings and some will be difficult to find, even more so now that Namlook has gone and the label is no more. Certain key titles were re-issued on CD and download from time to time, however, and much of the Fax catalogue is now spread widely online.
The Silence series
Silence (1992) is the one that started it all, Fax's first album release and one which caught the ear of both seasoned electronic boffins and dance fans looking for a chilled-out tonic after a night among the thumping beats of clubland. Both this album and Silence II (1993) are collaborations with close associate Dr Atmo and despite being at times almost new age in their choice of themes (a voice whispers sweet cosmic nothings like "we are all part of the universe") the music is outstanding. These beguiling, shimmering, reverberant landscapes are sometimes beatless and sometimes gently beaty with subdued live pads and cymbals. The 20 minute "Garden Of Dreams" is a particular mesmerising blend of slow Mid-Eastern rhythms with sighing and crying electronic chords.
Continuing the series is the the Persian-tinged Silence III (1998) which features Namlook on his own. Titles like "Mirage" "Into The Desert" and “A Ship On A Sea Of Sand” are just perfect; his sense of place is quite stunning and he understands the visual qualities of ambient sound exceptionally well. His creative range across entire series is impressive: from stately progressions of warm, organic-sounding orchestral synthscapes to atonal, purely atmospheric pieces of pure texture. When it comes to sound design Namlook’s attention to detail is faultless, which makes hearing his music on good hi-fi equipment especially rewarding. Silence III is followed by two more superb albums in the series.
The surreal, innovative first volume of Dreamfish (1993) with collaborator Mixmaster Morris is another genre-defining release, still cited today as a favourite by fans of early post-rave ambient. The environmental sound effects are deployed in a quirky way amongst the textured, gently rhythmic landscapes and the music brims with surprises and quiet invention. The jazzy bass notes on "Fishology", for example, move along at a good clip yet are so subtle that the track's calming qualities are never disturbed. The first three volumes of the Air series are also high-water marks for Namlook. Like the Silence series they show some rich ethnic and neo-classical leanings, and they remain particularly effective examples of how he uses live acoustic instruments in an electronic setting. The delicate, tinkling cymbals and soft tom-tom beats on "Je suis seule et triste ici" from Air I (1993), for instance, are utterly refreshing because Namlook is able to maintain a deep electronic ambient feel while still expanding electronica's instrumental vocabulary.
Air II (1994) is deeply psychedelic. An eleven-part "trip" subtitled "Traveling Without Moving", it takes it's thematic cue from Frank Herbert's cult sci-fi novel and movie Dune. Herbert's story posited a strange universe dependant on a life-extending, mind-altering spice drug. On Air II Namlook subtly draws on the story's themes to create a beautiful, creepy, intoxicating universe of his own. Again he utilizes acoustic instruments: didgeridoo, sighing woodwinds, flamenco guitar, Mid-Eastern flutes, and swooping vocal textures that rise and fall to striking effect. They're all integrated seamlessly, proving that despite the club music influences he thrived by exploring outside the rigid structures of electronic beats and sequencing.
Other collaborations
Although as an artist Namlook's focus was far broader than just club-influenced sounds, when he did get into more squelchy or bleepy techy-trance territory the results could be just as stimulating. On the brilliant two-part title track from The Fires Of Ork (1993) that thumping 4/4 kick drum is there alright, but somehow Namlook and cohort Gier Jenssen (aka Biosphere) have managed to mute it just enough to create a truly "ambient" dance music: thunderous yet shadowy and eerie, built around a voice sample of Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner. Also beats-based is the the superb first volume of From Within (1994), one of the pinnacles of ambient techno that marries Namlook's warm keys and spiralling synth sounds with the sparse bleeps and beats of Canadian techno guru Richie Hawtin. Again, the rhythms don't drive you into the ground but rather lull you into a gentle if uneasy trance, particularly on "Million Miles To Earth" and "Sad Alliance". The third in this series, From Within III (1997) is also outstanding
Namlook after the mid 90's
While many aficionados would agree that the early to mid 1990's produced most of Fax's - and Namlook's - most enduring releases, it would be unfair to dismiss some of Namlook's work since then. Highlights from 1995-2001 include the final volumes in what is probably Namlook's greatest series, the magnificent Silence IV (2000) and Silence V (2001). The luminous piano notes and warm orchestral synths of "The Night Before I Left" from Silence IV might just be the most emotional piece of music Namlook has ever made, an elegy that's at once incredibly sad and jaw-droppingly pretty. From the same album is the extraordinary "Bedouin Love", a dark, swirling epic with thunderous Moroccan drums, a strange spoken Arabic monologue and chilling yet beautiful synthesiser chords. In the same sonic universe as the Silence albums is From Within 3 from 1997, again made with Richie Hawtin but this time quite different from earlier volumes due to its softer, warmer sound. There's feather-soft lead guitar lines, lush strings, jazzy improvising and warm analogue melodies, all held together by subtle, intelligent drum programming. It's a fantastic example of accessible, soulful electronica.
In the 2000's and beyond Namlook continued with a busy release schedule of solo albums and collaborations but rarely with the same impact his music made in the previous decade. Not that there's lack of variety; for hardcore Fax fans there's plenty to explore. Experimental releases like New Organic Life (2002) are scarily unfamiliar, experimental, arguably unlistenable at times. Some outstanding individual melodic tracks appear on otherwise less-then-great albums such as Resonate (2006) and Namlook Le Mar (2009). However, some of his other collaborative albums made after the mid 90's - not listed on this page - are highly recommended including recordings with Tetsu Inoue, Klaus Schulze and Wolfram Spyra.
Death and legacy
Aged just 51, Namlook died unexpectedly in his sleep of a heart attack on 8 November 2012. Maintaining his intense work rate right up to the night he passed away, some wondered whether Namlook simply drove himself into the ground, literally living and dying for his art. Yet his sister told UK music journalist Mark Prendergast that "he went to bed happy" that day. Who are we to judge? Namlook left behind an extraordinary and enormous recorded legacy, as well as a generation of underground electronic producers and composers inspired by both his talents and his uncompromising independence. Fax Records is no more, though for the moment a good deal of his discography remains available. Hopefully a sensible licensing deal with the Kuhlmann estate will enable another publisher take on the best of his catalogue and keep it available in the coming decades. He deserves no less.
The tribute: Die Welt ist Klang
A superb Namlook tribute album appeared in 2013, almost as essential as any of the work released by the man himself. Die Welt ist Klang ("The World Is Sound") was put together in 2012-13 via a crowdfunding campaign by Dave Wade-Stein from EAR/Rational Music, the longtime North American distributor for Fax and related labels. The album is presented thus: four volumes of mostly new or unreleased music by former Fax artists, and four volumes of new material by mostly unknown musician-fans.
It's only fitting that one of the most prolific recording artists in the history of music - in all recorded music, not just a genre - should be honoured with a sprawling 8-volume tribute. It would take pages to review so much music in detail; suffice to say the standard of contributions overall is very high. Interestingly, most of the former Fax artists here don't seek to recapture peak moments from their past works. They just do what they do - from beatless ambient to bleepy dance grooves, from lounge to techno, from gentle dissonance to sweet, tender melodies. As for the the 40 or so musician-fan contributions, they were chosen from a large pool of submissions by a blind vote. Although there are some easy-to-spot pastiches among them, here too there is much freshness and surprise.
Die Welt ist Klang is a massive treasure chest of (mostly) new ambient and electronica. Some of it is the sound of now and some of it wistfully looks back. All of it acknowledges the contributions and example of one remarkable man.
Namlook" is "Koolman", a phonetic rendering of his real name, spelled backwards.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
One of the jewels in the fax crown, the opener 'School of fish' is a sublime piece of electronica, that propels itself without the need of a 4/4 beat, just subtle pulses that keep if flowing; once listened to it's maddeningly impossible to get it out of your head. The epic 'Hymn' is a bit more drifty and unfocused, but enjoyable all the same. 'Fishology' (notice the titles are becoming reminiscent of Steve Hillage's post-Gong hippy-opus 'Fish rising') lurched forward with what sounds like someone burping the Greek alphabet; and finally the immersive 'Under water' recalls the beatific and sublime 'The rapture of drowning' by Paul Schutze on 'New maps of hell 2'; though DreamFish was the earlier release!. An absolutely fabulous and mellow dream that takes you far away from reality into a serene underwater world that makes you hesitant to go back. A fave of post-club ravers and all of we chill out fans.... highly recommended
Pete Namlook • Mixmaster Morris - Dreamfish ( 340mb)
01 School Of Fish 18:26
02 Hymn 28:09
03 Fishology 9:25
04 Under Water 15:18
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
It would be injustice to not have a follow-up to the Fax World Label's powerful flagship release. With Dreamfish 2, though, it comes off a bit mild and less challenging compared to the original its forced to live up to. But simply wading through the chill melodic soundscape of "Aquarium" should be everything an ambient lover would want from this. "Caviar" provides some of that challenging cerebral ear candy with its complex arrangement of clicks and blips for a deep murky submerged experience. And "Submerge" is a fantastic epic ambient piece that you don't mind floating along with forever, much like "Aquarium" but with more diverse melodies both upbeat and drawn-out. Gorgeous underwater space music to wash over you during deep hibernation.
Pete Namlook • Mixmaster Morris - Dreamfish 2 ( 256mb)
01 Aquarium 24:33
02 Caviar 12:03
03 Submerge 24:23
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
This is Namlook's first work with Charles Uzzell-Edwards (born in South Wales in 1968) is a graffiti artist known by the moniker "Pure Evil". He is the son of Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards. Uzzell-Edwards has exhibited globally. In the early 1990s he was one of the designers for Anarchic Adjustment with Alan Brown and Nick Philip and released electronic ambient music on Pete Namlook's FAX label, recording "Octopus" 1, 2 & 3 and "Dada" (under the pseudonym Drum Machine Circle) solo, producing "A New Consciousness" and "Create" 1 & 2 with Pete Namlook, recording "Supergroup" with Thomas Bullock, and "Audio" with Tetsu Inoue and Daimon Beail. The Pure Evil Gallery is run by Uzzell-Edwards and located in Shoreditch, London..
At the beginning of Environment (twosevenzero), BGM style phrase of merry go round is faded in. However, it is wiped out by the noise of the city, and disappears while flashback. And sonar-like electronic sounds. A rhythm system is added to the low-frequency synth-based refrain, and the theme at the beginning appears. The minimal ambient from then on. And it disappears with the noise. In Tabletop (foursixone) , a metallic shock sound periodically appears following the dissonance drone. It's a noise that seems to have modulated the scissors sound, and that's a noise, and it's a somewhat nasty track. As chasing the noise, Golden Gate (fivefourone) that starts suddenly is a three part composition. In the early stages, the whimsical refrain is an unusual sound with a chopper-based emphasis (immighty). I entered the buffer movement from around 4:50, and I returned electronic sound and drone. After eight minutes, heavy beats come in and the climax arrives like a march. In # 4 that continues as it is, strange noises are muttering. It is a modulation of a chatter, so to speak, sound effects. At the very end, the effector is released. The person in the title, Iber Cutler, is famous as a bard (with CD release), but the relationship with the song is unknown.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - A New Consciousness (flac 299mb)
01 Environment (twosevenzero) 19:01
02 Tabletop (foursixone) 9:19
03 Golden Gate (fivefourone) 18:24
04 Tea With Ivor Cutler 13:50
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
I could be wrong but Create is probably the best release with Charles Uzzell-Edwards' name on it. And yet, this feels more like a Namlook solo as it can be very comparable to Namlook V. Aside from Namlook's synth noodling, which isn't very present at all until almost 15 minutes in (this release requires a little patience), there's not much else that goes on.
The two Create albums were recorded in San Francisco and the A New Consciousness albums in Frankfurt.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - Create ( 303mb)
01 Macro (Part 1) 5:01
02 Macro (Part 2) 5:00
03 Macro (Part 3) 5:00
04 Macro (Part 4) 5:01
05 Macro (Part 5) 4:59
06 Macro (Part 6) 5:01
07 Macro (Part 7) 4:59
08 Macro (Part 8) 5:01
09 Macro (Part 9) 4:59
10 Macro (Part 10) 5:01
11 Macro (Part 11) 4:59
12 Macro (Part 12) 5:00
13 Macro (Part 13) 5:00
14 Macro (Part 14) 7:53
15 Macro (Part 15) 0:07
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Namlook gives the concept of fusing environmental recordings and modern electronica another serious try. "Environmental San Francisco I" features more of Edwards beloved field recordings of his favorite city complete with fire engines this time, as well as the usual skateboards and trains, with Namlook chiming in and providing a deep ominous background, a theme which is pushed further for dark "Siddhartha" via synthetic chirping, spoken word and buzzing feedback. By now it's not a trip through San Francisco but an entire alien world altogether. "OM" is more of Namlook's playground though, building up to an all-out tweakfest. "Environmental San Francisco II" is the synth dominated piece, resulting in some mild space ambience. When it comes to something that uses Edwards' personal DAT recording collection effectively, this is probably as far as it goes.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - Create 2 ( flac 298mb)
01 Environmental San Francisco I 21:10
02 Siddhartha 11:26
03 OM 20:54
04 Environmental San Francisco II 10:50
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
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. "... ......N-Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Pete Namlook (born 25 November 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann [phon koolman] in Frankfurt, Germany, died on 8 November 2012) was an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer., the extremely prolific Pete Namlook (1960-2012) was one of the high priests of new-school ambient, ie. ambient techno, trance, lounge and other related dance-music spinoffs. In its 20 year history his record label Fax Records released some of the definitive albums in these sub-genres and Namlook stands alongside a handful of other names such as The Orb, Biosphere and Mixmaster Morris as one of the originators of ambient's resurgence and reinvention via dance music in the late 80's and early 90's.
Intriguingly, he often favoured the sounds of analogue synthesisers over digital and - alongside fellow German e-musician Oliver Lieb - was reputed to have one of the most extensive collections of classic analogue equipment in Europe. And although he downplayed the linage, like many of his new-school peers his music has some of its roots in old-school electronica as varied as Brian Eno, psy rockers Pink Floyd, and Krautrock icons like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream.
But Namlook was no imitator. He deepened and refined the sound of his predecessors with an injection of fresh ideas from the dance world, coupled with fine musicianship honed from many years of playing rock and jazz. In a 2007 interview with e-music magazine Slices he actually made a point of distancing his music from the conceptual influence of Eno particularly:
"You have to differentiate quite clearly between ambient in a techno sense, and on the other hand Brian Eno, a purely conceptual thing. I only knew of a collaboration between Brian Eno and Cluster [the German band], and him with Roxy Music. I only bought his ambient stuff later. Ambient as Eno defines it...is more or less musical wallpaper. It stays in the background and serves the environment rather than saying something about itself. In my definition of ambient, which has nothing in common with Eno's definition, it's about a journey, intense emotions that need to be transported - environmental music, jazz, ethno - depending on what project I'm working on".
The genesis of Fax Records
Although he had long dreamed of making a career from ambient electronica, in Fax Records' early days he was mainly pursuing a dance floor-oriented direction and releasing 12-inch vinyl singles to a warm reception from sectors of Europe's club scene.
But Namlook soon became dismayed at other artists' appropriation of the Frankfurt "hard trance" sound (developed through his genre-defining 4 Voice project). Thankfully his ambient B-sides to these singles - in hindsight a brilliant strategy - were also creating plenty of interest. Within a few years of the label's inception he had set about focusing Fax almost entirely on ambient and downtempo styles.
Up to his death in 2012 Namlook released an enormous number of solo and collaborative albums of widely varying quality both under his own name and various other project monikers. Collectors should be aware that many CD's were very limited pressings and some will be difficult to find, even more so now that Namlook has gone and the label is no more. Certain key titles were re-issued on CD and download from time to time, however, and much of the Fax catalogue is now spread widely online.
The Silence series
Silence (1992) is the one that started it all, Fax's first album release and one which caught the ear of both seasoned electronic boffins and dance fans looking for a chilled-out tonic after a night among the thumping beats of clubland. Both this album and Silence II (1993) are collaborations with close associate Dr Atmo and despite being at times almost new age in their choice of themes (a voice whispers sweet cosmic nothings like "we are all part of the universe") the music is outstanding. These beguiling, shimmering, reverberant landscapes are sometimes beatless and sometimes gently beaty with subdued live pads and cymbals. The 20 minute "Garden Of Dreams" is a particular mesmerising blend of slow Mid-Eastern rhythms with sighing and crying electronic chords.
Continuing the series is the the Persian-tinged Silence III (1998) which features Namlook on his own. Titles like "Mirage" "Into The Desert" and “A Ship On A Sea Of Sand” are just perfect; his sense of place is quite stunning and he understands the visual qualities of ambient sound exceptionally well. His creative range across entire series is impressive: from stately progressions of warm, organic-sounding orchestral synthscapes to atonal, purely atmospheric pieces of pure texture. When it comes to sound design Namlook’s attention to detail is faultless, which makes hearing his music on good hi-fi equipment especially rewarding. Silence III is followed by two more superb albums in the series.
The surreal, innovative first volume of Dreamfish (1993) with collaborator Mixmaster Morris is another genre-defining release, still cited today as a favourite by fans of early post-rave ambient. The environmental sound effects are deployed in a quirky way amongst the textured, gently rhythmic landscapes and the music brims with surprises and quiet invention. The jazzy bass notes on "Fishology", for example, move along at a good clip yet are so subtle that the track's calming qualities are never disturbed. The first three volumes of the Air series are also high-water marks for Namlook. Like the Silence series they show some rich ethnic and neo-classical leanings, and they remain particularly effective examples of how he uses live acoustic instruments in an electronic setting. The delicate, tinkling cymbals and soft tom-tom beats on "Je suis seule et triste ici" from Air I (1993), for instance, are utterly refreshing because Namlook is able to maintain a deep electronic ambient feel while still expanding electronica's instrumental vocabulary.
Air II (1994) is deeply psychedelic. An eleven-part "trip" subtitled "Traveling Without Moving", it takes it's thematic cue from Frank Herbert's cult sci-fi novel and movie Dune. Herbert's story posited a strange universe dependant on a life-extending, mind-altering spice drug. On Air II Namlook subtly draws on the story's themes to create a beautiful, creepy, intoxicating universe of his own. Again he utilizes acoustic instruments: didgeridoo, sighing woodwinds, flamenco guitar, Mid-Eastern flutes, and swooping vocal textures that rise and fall to striking effect. They're all integrated seamlessly, proving that despite the club music influences he thrived by exploring outside the rigid structures of electronic beats and sequencing.
Other collaborations
Although as an artist Namlook's focus was far broader than just club-influenced sounds, when he did get into more squelchy or bleepy techy-trance territory the results could be just as stimulating. On the brilliant two-part title track from The Fires Of Ork (1993) that thumping 4/4 kick drum is there alright, but somehow Namlook and cohort Gier Jenssen (aka Biosphere) have managed to mute it just enough to create a truly "ambient" dance music: thunderous yet shadowy and eerie, built around a voice sample of Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner. Also beats-based is the the superb first volume of From Within (1994), one of the pinnacles of ambient techno that marries Namlook's warm keys and spiralling synth sounds with the sparse bleeps and beats of Canadian techno guru Richie Hawtin. Again, the rhythms don't drive you into the ground but rather lull you into a gentle if uneasy trance, particularly on "Million Miles To Earth" and "Sad Alliance". The third in this series, From Within III (1997) is also outstanding
Namlook after the mid 90's
While many aficionados would agree that the early to mid 1990's produced most of Fax's - and Namlook's - most enduring releases, it would be unfair to dismiss some of Namlook's work since then. Highlights from 1995-2001 include the final volumes in what is probably Namlook's greatest series, the magnificent Silence IV (2000) and Silence V (2001). The luminous piano notes and warm orchestral synths of "The Night Before I Left" from Silence IV might just be the most emotional piece of music Namlook has ever made, an elegy that's at once incredibly sad and jaw-droppingly pretty. From the same album is the extraordinary "Bedouin Love", a dark, swirling epic with thunderous Moroccan drums, a strange spoken Arabic monologue and chilling yet beautiful synthesiser chords. In the same sonic universe as the Silence albums is From Within 3 from 1997, again made with Richie Hawtin but this time quite different from earlier volumes due to its softer, warmer sound. There's feather-soft lead guitar lines, lush strings, jazzy improvising and warm analogue melodies, all held together by subtle, intelligent drum programming. It's a fantastic example of accessible, soulful electronica.
In the 2000's and beyond Namlook continued with a busy release schedule of solo albums and collaborations but rarely with the same impact his music made in the previous decade. Not that there's lack of variety; for hardcore Fax fans there's plenty to explore. Experimental releases like New Organic Life (2002) are scarily unfamiliar, experimental, arguably unlistenable at times. Some outstanding individual melodic tracks appear on otherwise less-then-great albums such as Resonate (2006) and Namlook Le Mar (2009). However, some of his other collaborative albums made after the mid 90's - not listed on this page - are highly recommended including recordings with Tetsu Inoue, Klaus Schulze and Wolfram Spyra.
Death and legacy
Aged just 51, Namlook died unexpectedly in his sleep of a heart attack on 8 November 2012. Maintaining his intense work rate right up to the night he passed away, some wondered whether Namlook simply drove himself into the ground, literally living and dying for his art. Yet his sister told UK music journalist Mark Prendergast that "he went to bed happy" that day. Who are we to judge? Namlook left behind an extraordinary and enormous recorded legacy, as well as a generation of underground electronic producers and composers inspired by both his talents and his uncompromising independence. Fax Records is no more, though for the moment a good deal of his discography remains available. Hopefully a sensible licensing deal with the Kuhlmann estate will enable another publisher take on the best of his catalogue and keep it available in the coming decades. He deserves no less.
The tribute: Die Welt ist Klang
A superb Namlook tribute album appeared in 2013, almost as essential as any of the work released by the man himself. Die Welt ist Klang ("The World Is Sound") was put together in 2012-13 via a crowdfunding campaign by Dave Wade-Stein from EAR/Rational Music, the longtime North American distributor for Fax and related labels. The album is presented thus: four volumes of mostly new or unreleased music by former Fax artists, and four volumes of new material by mostly unknown musician-fans.
It's only fitting that one of the most prolific recording artists in the history of music - in all recorded music, not just a genre - should be honoured with a sprawling 8-volume tribute. It would take pages to review so much music in detail; suffice to say the standard of contributions overall is very high. Interestingly, most of the former Fax artists here don't seek to recapture peak moments from their past works. They just do what they do - from beatless ambient to bleepy dance grooves, from lounge to techno, from gentle dissonance to sweet, tender melodies. As for the the 40 or so musician-fan contributions, they were chosen from a large pool of submissions by a blind vote. Although there are some easy-to-spot pastiches among them, here too there is much freshness and surprise.
Die Welt ist Klang is a massive treasure chest of (mostly) new ambient and electronica. Some of it is the sound of now and some of it wistfully looks back. All of it acknowledges the contributions and example of one remarkable man.
Namlook" is "Koolman", a phonetic rendering of his real name, spelled backwards.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
One of the jewels in the fax crown, the opener 'School of fish' is a sublime piece of electronica, that propels itself without the need of a 4/4 beat, just subtle pulses that keep if flowing; once listened to it's maddeningly impossible to get it out of your head. The epic 'Hymn' is a bit more drifty and unfocused, but enjoyable all the same. 'Fishology' (notice the titles are becoming reminiscent of Steve Hillage's post-Gong hippy-opus 'Fish rising') lurched forward with what sounds like someone burping the Greek alphabet; and finally the immersive 'Under water' recalls the beatific and sublime 'The rapture of drowning' by Paul Schutze on 'New maps of hell 2'; though DreamFish was the earlier release!. An absolutely fabulous and mellow dream that takes you far away from reality into a serene underwater world that makes you hesitant to go back. A fave of post-club ravers and all of we chill out fans.... highly recommended
Pete Namlook • Mixmaster Morris - Dreamfish ( 340mb)
01 School Of Fish 18:26
02 Hymn 28:09
03 Fishology 9:25
04 Under Water 15:18
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
It would be injustice to not have a follow-up to the Fax World Label's powerful flagship release. With Dreamfish 2, though, it comes off a bit mild and less challenging compared to the original its forced to live up to. But simply wading through the chill melodic soundscape of "Aquarium" should be everything an ambient lover would want from this. "Caviar" provides some of that challenging cerebral ear candy with its complex arrangement of clicks and blips for a deep murky submerged experience. And "Submerge" is a fantastic epic ambient piece that you don't mind floating along with forever, much like "Aquarium" but with more diverse melodies both upbeat and drawn-out. Gorgeous underwater space music to wash over you during deep hibernation.
Pete Namlook • Mixmaster Morris - Dreamfish 2 ( 256mb)
01 Aquarium 24:33
02 Caviar 12:03
03 Submerge 24:23
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This is Namlook's first work with Charles Uzzell-Edwards (born in South Wales in 1968) is a graffiti artist known by the moniker "Pure Evil". He is the son of Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards. Uzzell-Edwards has exhibited globally. In the early 1990s he was one of the designers for Anarchic Adjustment with Alan Brown and Nick Philip and released electronic ambient music on Pete Namlook's FAX label, recording "Octopus" 1, 2 & 3 and "Dada" (under the pseudonym Drum Machine Circle) solo, producing "A New Consciousness" and "Create" 1 & 2 with Pete Namlook, recording "Supergroup" with Thomas Bullock, and "Audio" with Tetsu Inoue and Daimon Beail. The Pure Evil Gallery is run by Uzzell-Edwards and located in Shoreditch, London..
At the beginning of Environment (twosevenzero), BGM style phrase of merry go round is faded in. However, it is wiped out by the noise of the city, and disappears while flashback. And sonar-like electronic sounds. A rhythm system is added to the low-frequency synth-based refrain, and the theme at the beginning appears. The minimal ambient from then on. And it disappears with the noise. In Tabletop (foursixone) , a metallic shock sound periodically appears following the dissonance drone. It's a noise that seems to have modulated the scissors sound, and that's a noise, and it's a somewhat nasty track. As chasing the noise, Golden Gate (fivefourone) that starts suddenly is a three part composition. In the early stages, the whimsical refrain is an unusual sound with a chopper-based emphasis (immighty). I entered the buffer movement from around 4:50, and I returned electronic sound and drone. After eight minutes, heavy beats come in and the climax arrives like a march. In # 4 that continues as it is, strange noises are muttering. It is a modulation of a chatter, so to speak, sound effects. At the very end, the effector is released. The person in the title, Iber Cutler, is famous as a bard (with CD release), but the relationship with the song is unknown.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - A New Consciousness (flac 299mb)
01 Environment (twosevenzero) 19:01
02 Tabletop (foursixone) 9:19
03 Golden Gate (fivefourone) 18:24
04 Tea With Ivor Cutler 13:50
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I could be wrong but Create is probably the best release with Charles Uzzell-Edwards' name on it. And yet, this feels more like a Namlook solo as it can be very comparable to Namlook V. Aside from Namlook's synth noodling, which isn't very present at all until almost 15 minutes in (this release requires a little patience), there's not much else that goes on.
The two Create albums were recorded in San Francisco and the A New Consciousness albums in Frankfurt.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - Create ( 303mb)
01 Macro (Part 1) 5:01
02 Macro (Part 2) 5:00
03 Macro (Part 3) 5:00
04 Macro (Part 4) 5:01
05 Macro (Part 5) 4:59
06 Macro (Part 6) 5:01
07 Macro (Part 7) 4:59
08 Macro (Part 8) 5:01
09 Macro (Part 9) 4:59
10 Macro (Part 10) 5:01
11 Macro (Part 11) 4:59
12 Macro (Part 12) 5:00
13 Macro (Part 13) 5:00
14 Macro (Part 14) 7:53
15 Macro (Part 15) 0:07
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Namlook gives the concept of fusing environmental recordings and modern electronica another serious try. "Environmental San Francisco I" features more of Edwards beloved field recordings of his favorite city complete with fire engines this time, as well as the usual skateboards and trains, with Namlook chiming in and providing a deep ominous background, a theme which is pushed further for dark "Siddhartha" via synthetic chirping, spoken word and buzzing feedback. By now it's not a trip through San Francisco but an entire alien world altogether. "OM" is more of Namlook's playground though, building up to an all-out tweakfest. "Environmental San Francisco II" is the synth dominated piece, resulting in some mild space ambience. When it comes to something that uses Edwards' personal DAT recording collection effectively, this is probably as far as it goes.
Pete Namlook • Charles Uzzell-Edwards - Create 2 ( flac 298mb)
01 Environmental San Francisco I 21:10
02 Siddhartha 11:26
03 OM 20:54
04 Environmental San Francisco II 10:50
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Here to say thanks once again, Rho. This upload series is much appreciated. And there are some artists here I had no idea collaborated with Namlook, like Edwards.
ReplyDeleteI have an album for you to listen to. Couldn't find it on your blog so it might hopefully intrigue you a little.
https://borisblenn.bandcamp.com/album/berlin-future-lounge
Cheers once more, Rho.
Josh