So-Called Ambient-Techno

Jan Jelinek – Universal Band Silhouette – Kosmischer Pitch (~scape 2005)


Kammerflimmer Kollekteif – Unstet-Schilefen (Jan Jelinek Remix) - Remixed (Staubgold 2006)


Mouse on Mars – Catching Butterflies with Hands – Idiology (Thrill Jockey 2001)


I recently received the Kammerflimmer Kollektief remix record, and while listening to it’s various re-imaginings of the German collectives’ original material, it appeared to me that the recent movement of ambient-techno/post-rockish artists are really the closest thing we have to the experimental jazz artists of the late 60s and on into the 70s. I’m not really sure how I feel about the ‘ambient-techno’ label, which is just as ambiguous as any hyphenated classification, mostly because I relate negative connotations to the word ‘techno.’ The AMG definition sites obvious starting points at B12, early Aphex Twin and the Higher Intelligence Agency, which I more relate to the minimal techno movement; but they do hit the nail on the head with the beautifully summed-up definition, ‘soaring, layered, aquatic atmospheres of beatless and experimental ambient.’ Alright, so with that definition, what does ‘techno,’ which emphasizes electronic, synthesized beats and electro-funk dance groove, have anything to do with this music? I realize that this new style is certainly a byproduct of the 80s movement, especially with finally chopped, minimal beats that provide the skeletal backbone to a lot of the songs, but when you get to the music of artists like Jan Jelinek, it just seems like he has gone far past anything that could be remotely derived as techno. Similar to jazz artists like Alice Coltrane, Jelinek stretches out a motif into almost a drone and lets the music layer upon itself creating unforeseen overtones that swell while progressing the music by adding new sounds into the building mix. While Coltrane accomplished this by layering Eastern instruments like the tamboura, Jelinek uses finally chopped samples which he stretches into indefinable new sounds. Both styles of music produce a very meditative state for the listener, letting the slowly progressing loops and layers swirl around the ears and fill a room with a colorful atmosphere of overtones and reflections.

I’m going to include a track from the new Kammerflimmer Kollekteif remix album, Jan Jelinek’s latest Kosmischer Pitch and one from Mouse on Mars, and earlier and still very important innovator in the genre.

Jan Jelinek – Universal Band Silhouette – Kosmischer Pitch (~scape 2005)

Jelinek has rose quickly through the ranks of electronic producers in the last 6 years, first under the monikers Farben and Gramm, and now under his birth name. His penchant for microscopically sampled loops has helped define the microsound and ambient-techno genres. This is a review I wrote for this album when it came out:

Jan Jelinek, the Austrian-born producer with the unparalleled ears capable of dissecting a sample into enticing sound bytes just milliseconds long, leaves his soul and jazz records on the shelf for his third proper full length under his real name. Drawing inspiration and samples from the krautrock creative explosion in Germany during the 70s, 'Kosmischer Pitch' ('Cosmic Pitch') is a flowing array of unidentifiable and melodic noise that fluidly melts into a single strand of droning music. By almost completely leaving his glitch tendencies behind, Jelinek has created a much more free-flowing sound; one that builds calmly before stretching out and layering back on itself. The music almost sounds like it's waking up to dreary Saturday morning, only to decide that everything it had planned out to accomplish that day was not nearly as important as rolling back over for a few more hours of much needed sleep. Jelinek's samples remain mostly a mystery due to the heavy manipulation but they are much more accessible than his previous outings. Whether it is a number of vibraphone splices (perhaps the same one) weaving in and out of each other or a guitar strum with the entire attack cut off, each moment of sound seems strategically placed and triggered to create one, effervescing sound. 'Kosmischer Pitch' may be a new direction for Jelinek, but it is definitely not a wrong turn.


Kammerflimmer Kollekteif – Unstet-Schilefen (Jan Jelinek Remix) - Remixed (Staubgold 2006)

Kammerflimmer Kollekteif began as the brainchild of Thomas Weber and his bedroom experimentation with ambient noises but expanded into a typically 6-piece collective that brings the music to life by creating it with a band rather than solely a machine. The group has continually reinvented their sound throughout their 7-year existence, progressing from more lo-fi, ambient drone to electronic jazz improvisers to lush post-rock composers. They have a penchant for rich soundscapes that can range from playful minimalist static to fleshed out and lush shoegaze-like music that is not afraid to skronk when necessary. This remix record compiles tracks from two limited edition 12” EPs and features mixes from similar artists like Jan Jelinek, Sutekh, Aoki Takamasa and Secondo.

Mouse on Mars – Catching Butterflies with Hands – Idiology (Thrill Jockey 2001)

While Mouse on Mars may be more beat driven than Jelinek, they are certainly a crucial step in the evolution of their shared experimental electronic music, and elements of their sound can be heard in Jelinek. Duo Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner teamed up in 1993 and were thankfully seated between the burgeoning German techno and ambient scenes, of which were both heavily influential and undeniably important to their musical evolution. Always a bit offbeat, they usually took the path least traveled opting for oddly programmed beats and colorful samples to shape their music. ‘Idiology,’ their seventh full-length was the perfect summation of their career to date, collecting 11 almost unrelated tracks that each succeeded in their own individual way. By far my favorite, this song is so oddly infectious it’s ridiculous and features bright samples twisted and manipulated in unforeseen creating a completely indefinable composition.