ace026: black to comm "charlemagne & pippin" CD $13
Marc Richter's new Black to Comm offering "Charlemagne & Pippin" churns out a slowly, methodically building single-tone battleship, that somehow manages to become more powerful, hopeful, and grandiose as it oscillates. Richter's characteristic organ noise is rounded off beautifully with various electronics, bells, metal percussion, toys, water, and violins, provided by band members Renate Nikolaus and Ulf Schütte ,which grow around the central note yet slowly move to the center themselves. The Bursting electronics, white noise, and buzzes become more frequent and attempt to overpower the mighty organ.

Together, these three musicians bring about a musical pairing that suits the title. A pairing of power and play, father and son, age and youth. Its probably best to turn the lights off and the speakers up for this meditative 35 minute slab of drone excellence.

tracklist:
1. Charlemagne & Pippin (excerpt)

Praise for Black to Comm:
"Everything that ends up in the mix sounds insane, throws you off course, twists perception into unrecognisable shapes and leaves you feeling just a little crazy. So then: strange geometries culminating in bouts of insanity? Black to Comm is the H.P. Lovecraft of dronedelia." - The Quietus

"This kind of drone music is something that one doesn't hear every day and goes beyond the
more traditional types of drone music. That's something I like very much and this new CD by Black To Comm is great. A highly refined and original work." - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly

"Marc Richter, the owner of Hamburg's Dekorder label, records as Black To Comm, a name that references The MC5, even though you'd find it difficult to make a musical analogy between his and their work. Perhaps there's a residue of outlaw spirit in Richter's queasy compositions, though you feel he's less interested in breaking the rules than in circumventing them altogether. With a sound built on Krautrock-style keyboard oscillations, fluttering electronics and processed vocal moans, his songs play out as textural pieces with a closed-in, near claustrophobic feel. They are like a series of tableaux, hovering in a stasis where the more layers Richter adds on, the less forward motion there appears to be. Extra marks are awarded for naming a track "Leigh Bowery" and matching it up with the aural equivalent of quivering meat." - Tom Ridge, THE WIRE