To say the least, the pairing of former
Commotions lead crooner
Lloyd Cole and Krautrock pioneer
Hans-Joachim Roedelius looks a little strange on paper, but both had been operating in electronic music circles for some time by the arrival of
Selected Studies, Vol. 1. Considering
Cole's history as a smooth pop singer, his involvement in this entirely instrumental album of extremely chilled-out, nearly ambient studies in texture and subtly shifting moods is especially curious, despite the release of
Plastic Wood, his often overlooked 2001 album of similarly minded instrumental electronic music. To be sure, both players are working in equal parts as composers and electronic explorers.
Roedelius' impressive history of softly glowing electronic compositions is no more on display here than
Cole's more limited one, and the two turn in ten pieces of stoically beautiful, mostly beatless electronica, drawing comparisons to everything from
Brian Eno's contributions to
Bowie's icy electronica on the second side of
Low with tracks like "Virginie L" to reflections of classical masters like
Debussy and
Satie with slowly unfolding compositions like "Still Life with Kannyu."