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1.
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Où
Sont Les Femmes? |
30'18
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2.
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All
Together |
22'32
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3.
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Ended
Traditions |
14'29
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4.
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The
Missing Part |
8'27
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RELEASE |
27.09.2003
CD AKH Records AKH 09032-2 |
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CREDITS |
All
music composed, jammed and produced by Remy Stroomer.
Co-produced by Ewout Koek.
-
The Missing Part edited by Ewout and Remy.
Recorded
by Remy @ AKH Studios, Haarlem, 22 - 30 December 2002.
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REVIEWS |
Remy Stroomer aus
den Niederlanden gehört zu der noch jungen Generation an Musikern
, deren Musik an die von Klaus Schulze erinnert. Diese aus dem Jahre
2003 gefällt mir am besten . Bei dieser Musik stelle ich mir eine
weite , einsame Landschaft vor , die allmählich mit Musik ausgefüllt
wird .... ruhig , in einer ergreifenden Atmosphäre ...
Wirklich eine schöne CD.
February
2007. Uwe Saße
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Remy
returns to these virtual pages with an offering thematically connected
to his recent Disconnected, in title at least. The music is similarly
influenced by Klaus Schulze, circa 1975-78 and fans of Schulze's recordings
of that era are almost sure to enjoy this one. Remy composes very ably
in this style, and while the stylistic innovations may be few, he is
able to use and twist the style to respond to his personal expressions.
As far as I can tell, Remy plays all the instruments and/or instrumental
lines on this recording, (the featured sounds are synth sounds) and
while that is becoming more the norm in this field, listeners should
be reminded that it is quite an accomplishment. Moreover, Remy is careful
to make sure that the lines he plays are idiomatic - that a bass line,
even if it is played on a synth, sounds like a bass line and that drum
parts make good sense as drum parts. This facilitates the mode of expression
used in this recording tremendously and sets it apart from some of the
other recordings of this type. The recording opens with "Ou Sont
Les Femmes", a very long, slowly undulating sad, mysterious, minor
key track. The primary sounds at the beginning of the piece are any
number of whooshes and other gradations of white noise mixed in with
a heavily phased string-organ sound playing sparse minor chords with
a very slow harmonic rhythm. Gradually a steady but relatively subdued
drum pulse is introduced and an interesting quasi-melodic bass line
plays. Solo synth tones, sounding eerily like Schulze's trademark solo
sounds, float over the ambient haze. The piece is dripping with relaxed
and nostalgic expression. The sheer length of the piece induces a drifty
trance in the attentive or casual listener. I found the piece very relaxing
and evocative. "All Together" begins with a vigorous and rhythmically
ambitious "Berlin" sequence built on an eastern sounding scale.This
sequence quickly interlocks with some short, supporting motives and
the piece begins to bounce along. Remy uses a calm string sound underneath
the sequence and a few tasteful effects sounds to propel the piece.
Rhythmic accents are also used to keep the listener off balance. Drums
are again present but do not dominate. "Ended Traditions"
uses a fretless bass sound quite effectively and is the most unique
sounding piece of the set. While the Berlin lineage is manifest, the
piece also manages to sound new and singular. Although the harmony could
be lifted from the first piece, the rhythm is much more
syncopated and stop-and-go rather than rolling or building like the
more rhythmically static Berlin style. While this is not entirely successful,
lending the piece a bit of a choppy sound that is, to these ears, not-quite-intended,
Remy is to be commended for attempting to express things out of the
comfort mode. The final piece "Missing Part" is a fun, mid-tempo
exploration of fast timbre changes and filter resonance highlights.
Some light funkiness is introduced with the cycling groove that develops
and the
chords in the background, again based on the relatively un expanded
harmony, ably assist this funky mood. Remy is to be applauded for providing
listeners with quality music in this style. His understanding of the
elements necessary to make a successful piece in this style and his
emphasis on evocative expression make this a rewarding listen for Berlin
School disciples worldwide.
Mark
Morton / Wind And Wire
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De
Nederlanders Ewout Koek en Remy Stroomer zijn de partners in crime.
De eerste liep met het idee rond muziek uit te brengen, de tweede zag
als geluidskunstenaar graag zijn werk gereleasd. De twee ontmoeten elkaar
op de hogeschool en van het een kwam het ander. In 1999 bracht het Akh
label van Koek de eerste twee cd-r's van Remy uit.
En
nu luisteren we naar de nummers drie en vier uit de Akh catalogus en
tevens uit de Remy discografie. 'Disconnect' bevat nummers die Stroomer
de afgelopen drie jaar componeerde en 'Connect' is gevuld met recent
werk. De twee schijfjes staan vol lang uitgesponnen geluidsexploraties.
Remy creëert met ambient en voorzichtige aanzetten tot elektronische
ritmes een klanktapijt opgetrokken uit pastel tinten met hier een daar
een kloddertje kleur. Maar pasteltinten zijn zo saai, het is allemaal
te vlak, te veel muzak, of zijn we gewoon niet onderlegd genoeg om zijn
muziek te begrijpen? In een goedgemutste bui houden we het op een uitgeklede,
minimalistische ambient versie van Pink Floyd.
Tom
/ L'entrepôt
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Eerst
was er DisConnected, en later gelukkig Connected. Dat klinkt als een
gelukkig verhaal en komt mooi overeen met de etherische, kristalheldere
en onversneden gelukkige klanken van de 25-jarige producer Remy Stroomer
uit Haarlem. Niet verwonderlijk dat zijn muziek nogal eens in new-age
lijsten te vinden is. Remy heeft zich omringd met een batterij aan keyboards
zoals het grote voorbeeld Klaus Schulze en doet gewoon zijn eigen ding:
de eigen dromen, gevoelens, gedachten en ervaringen aan de luisteraar
overbrengen. Dat gebeurt in tracks die gemiddeld een kwartier duren,
met gelukzalig repeterende synthesizergolven waar dan nog een warme
saus van dartele synthriedeltjes overheen smelt. Het verschil tussen
de twee platen is me overigens nog steeds niet duidelijk.
Arjan
van Sorge / NPI
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Hopefully
you'll all remember the excellent track that Remy Stroomer & Ewout
Koek (AKA Remy) contributed to one of the "Sequences" CD's
back in 2001, shortly after the release of their album on Groove "The
Art Of Imagination" which showed a talent at work that still had
a way to go to fulfill it's promise.
These
two albums come separately but, in their nigh-on identical gatefold
sleeves are obviously meant to be seen as an entity in themselves. The
only problem with that is that while "Disconnected" is a pretty
fine album "Connected" seems lackluster, plodding &, just
to compound matters, each track is far too long for it's own good with
the opening "Ou Sont Les Femmes?" being the first offender.
It initially seems quite promising as Remy's approach to sound is similar
to that of 80s/90s Klaus Schulze but he also makes the mistake of making
this gently rhythmic track as dull & as repetitious as many of Schulze's
later works were, clocking in at just over the half hour mark.
It's a shame as some of the old-school analogue leads are well used
& it's obvious that Remy has a way of working that, if used to it's
full potential could well make his music easily recognizable in the
current EM market.
It's a problem which crops up throughout as all the tracks show promise,
including a nice atmospheric feel to "All Together" (that
actually resembles Schulze's "Dreams" from 1987) but the unchanging
nature of this sequenced track mean that this promise is never fulfilled.
The latter rhythmic elements add a touch of impetus but it's too little
too late while much the same can be said of "Ended Traditions".
The closing "The Missing Part" is, at 8 minutes far more manageable
& the fact that "Disconnected" is made up of these shorter
tracks is one of the reasons why this is the more enjoyable offering
of the two.
Not only that but the promise that "Connected" showed is realized
far more in this case with tracks such as "Ego-Trip" &
"Mystral", where the rhythms gradually gain the ascendancy
in tandem with cutting synth leads, prove themselves far more action-packed
offerings which allows the music to really shine while the cosmic "Stars"
proves that this method of working also works well for more serene pieces.
Even the 17 minute "Ages" gets it spot on as, again, everything
just gels so perfectly with the cutting synth leads being backed up
by Curly Quazar's hot guitar licks.
It's
odd that twin albums by one artist could be so different in terms of
quality & whilst it's almost inevitable that anyone who buys one
album will probably but both the best bet is to listen to "Disconnected"
first & then "Connected".
2004.
Carl Jenkinson
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Remy
Stroomer is a synthesist whose music recovers the romantic spirit of
pioneerings space music in the 1970's, yet accompanying it with new
ideas. "Connected" is characterized by long themes of a slow
development, rich in dense atmospheres, melodies that range from the
mysterious to the romantic, and powerful sequencers sometimes sustained
by percussion. Remy admits that Klaus Schulze has been one of his major
influences, a trait that can be perceived in the album, yet it is also
true that he has already developed his own elements of artistic identity.
Edgar
Kogler / Amazing Sounds
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If
you loved Klaus circa his PICTURE MUSIC and TIMEWIND period then Remy
is for you. While certainly NOT a copy of Klaus, he certainly is inspired
by the long flowing sequences and cosmic wall of sound ethos that Master
K pioneered way back when. CONNECTED is filled with spacey twinklie
vibes.
Archie
Patterson / Eurock
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'Space
is the place' is het devies van Remy. 'Connected' en 'Disconnected'
zijn twee verschillende cd's vol met spacy synthi klanken, zoals eigenlijk
alleen Klaus Schulze dat kan. Remy (overigens niet te verwarren met
zijn techno naamgenoot) klinkt warm, melancholiek en melodieus en weet
met z'n composities te imponeren. De muziek wordt vaker vergeleken met
Schulze, maar dat vind hij vast niet erg. Wij ook niet.
Bob
Rusche / Boudisque
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Remy
is a relatively new name in electronic music. It all started in 1999
when this former student sonology released the double CD-R "Exhibition
Of Dreams" which received a lot of positive reactions. The interesting
thing about his music was that it followed the footsteps of Klaus Schulze
but not necessarily the "old" Schulze but the more recent.
It also led to contact with Groove Unlimited and in 2000 he released
the album "The Art Of Imagination" on that label. This record
became a success, winning the third price in the category "Best
newcomer electronic music" at the German "Schwingungen-Festival"
in 2001.
The
two twin-albums "DisConnected" and "Connected" shows
us a Remy who has matured in his music and who has developed a style
of his own. And an impressive style it is. Using both classic instruments
like the VCS3 (I and II) and the Memorymoog as well as modern equipment,
he brings us music that will appeal to a lot of electronic music fans.
He combines excellent sequences, great atmospheres, well-constructed
rhythms and nice solos. A great example of this is the track "Ages"
from "DisConnected" which shows Curly Quazar on electric guitar.
Remy is a master of the sequence: "The Missing Part" from
"Connected" clearly indicates this.
Remy,
a relatively new name in electronic music but it's a rising force.
2003.
Press information
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