The sound wizardry of
Ralph Steinbrüchel resides in delicateness, subtlety, and the rightful appropriation of samples. No matter who supplies the raw sound materials or what these materials are,
Steinbrüchel will manage to make them sound like...
Steinbrüchel. At the basis of
Basis are guitar recordings from
Lawrence English's Crónica release Happiness Will Befall (the four "Interlude" pieces) and
Ben Frost's Bedroom Community release
Theory of Machines (the two "These" pieces), and, for "Falter," piano recordings by Bernd Schurer, with whom
Steinbrüchel has simultaneously released the striking duo project Falte on the Non-Visual Objects label. The "Interlude" tracks are four five-minute reflections on quiet bell-like tones turned into shimmering drones, static yet gripping in their own right. "These 1" (17 minutes) and "These 2" (nine minutes) are slightly grittier and more changing on a mid-term scale, capturing the abrasive quality of
Frost's original textures. As for the 20-minute "Falter," it provides a very quiet, even lulling, moment of contemplation, electric piano notes slowly echoing back and forth between the left and right channels, as textures morph very slowly in the background.
Basis is not
Steinbrüchel's most striking record -- in that department, his Zwischen.raum EP or the aforementioned Falte are your best bets -- but it exemplifies his less-is-more philosophy and his craft as a soundsmith. ~ François Couture