Kreidler – Early Recordings 1994-95

Bureau B

To celebrate thirty or so years of existence, Kreidler have gone back through the archives to release some formative recordings.

Some tracks from the cassette release Riva and their first untitled vinyl release have been compiled to show how quickly the basic idea of Kreidler fell into place. Some of the assembled tracks are tiny snippets that seem to be just an idea waiting to be fleshed out, but there is nearly always a resonant groove that runs through a lot of them; a swirl of dubby drums, a deep bass rhythm and and expansive sprawl of synths.

There is something European about the cleanness and modernity here, a simple, addictive sound that coincidentally shares some experimental aesthetic with Tortoise who were starting out around the same time: the dubby bass, pensive percussion and playful electronics spoke of a bright future that took a brief look in the rear view mirror before hitting the highway. There isn’t much off-limits to them; there is an Eastern spangle to “Cafe Dello Sport” that matches tablas with dub bass, while “Charles Wilp Fotografiert Muhammed Ali” sounds like somebody playing Space Invaders while knocking out a slow techno rhythm as taut rimshots abound. The kinetic percussion gives that lovely analogue dance feel that has echoes in some drum and bass.

Some of the pieces are more expansive, highlighting their dubbier influences with the Jah Wobble-like bass of “Tierfilm” allied to an oddly romantic synth line, while the lonely sax of Fritz Sidderle is a lovely addition to the far too short “Das Wilde Heinfeld”. The first side ends with the unreleased “Angst”, a cover of a a song by Fehlfarben that was never originally released. Julia Friedrich‘s vocals give a very different feel to the rest of the material here, but it is a worthy inclusion showing a direction that could have been taken.

The second side starts with the easy loping groove of “Die Sexy Antwort Auf Beige”. It has an indefinable air, with the drums always changing as the side progresses. The link between bass and drums is under constant scrutiny, twisting and writhing around one another, their love of repetition as strong as their joy in tinkering with the progression. Most tracks are built round a sturdy drumbeat and the dichotomy of solidity with the shifting sands of texture finds the songs constantly evolving, sounds gradually disappearing and then replaced by something unexpected yet essential.

Brief experiments like “Bikini” are crying out to be expanded, but perhaps that is the beauty of the group; there is always something fresh to be discovered and something small like this is just discarded as magpie-like they happen upon something else. The final piece here, “Im betrien (IV)”, has a sleepy trip-hop vibe that demands further investigation, its clean lines and air of calm crying out for a second chapter. It is perhaps a good place to leave us as you sense the huge opportunities open to them for the future.

Early Recordings 1994-95 shows a band coming into being fully formed and already buoyed by a sense of adventure; it is an essential purchase for fans and anyone interested in the history of contemporary German music.

-Mr Olivetti-