CONRAD SCHNITZLER – Control

“…on the way to the complete Schnitzler.” This optimistic goal was recently formulated by an employee of Bureau-B. But just as it was Schnitzler’s life’s work to create a sonic universe of his own, it is practically impossible to document that sonic universe in its entirety. I have previously expressed this assumption elsewhere. The sheer volume of official releases (LPs, CDs, cassettes) is almost unfathomable. Added to this are the small editions released by Schnitzler himself, which are not included in the discographies. And then there are the holdings of various archives, which have only been partially evaluated so far. In other words: Schnitzler and still no end in sight. But the journey is its own reward, and this journey will be a delightfully long one. Onward! “Control” was created during a phase of Schnitzler’s work in which his friendship with Peter Baumann (formerly of Tangerine Dream) allowed him to try out and use new electronic sound generators and peripheral technologies. He never used these innovations merely for their own sake, but always put them at the service of his artistic flair for experimentation. His signature style is clearly recognizable on “Control”. The album seems to be a kind of compilation of different musical approaches. Tracks 5 and 9, for example, are classic Schnitzler: sparkling cascades of electronic sound particles, interspersed with longer and shorter glissandi, constant movement in all directions. But then there are tracks 1, 8, 11, and 12 – and here I can only speculate – where it seems as if Schnitzler wanted to combine a few elements of traditional harmony with his own sound aesthetic in these pieces. And why not? He was completely undaunted by new things. Most important was that the music remained within the framework of his strict overall concept. There is no spacing between the tracks on the original LP, released in 1981 by the DYS label in the US. The A and B sides are originally titled simply ‘Control A’ and ‘Control B’, and the thirteen pieces are strung together without interruption. Strange. About half of the tracks on “Control” are apparently faded in and/or out. This could indicate that Schnitzler either drew on “overlong” archive material to extract passages suitable for the album, or that he shortened the newly recorded music. Speculation is pointless – we can no longer ask Schnitzler. In any case, he opted for relatively short pieces averaging three minutes in length, some even shorter, others a little longer. All in all, this creates the impression of sketches. Sketches with sharply defined contours, however: as with almost all his albums, Schnitzler gives us listeners clear information about where he currently resides in his musical universe. For Schnitzler, too, the journey was its own reward, and there were many stops “on the way to the complete Schnitzler”; he never lingered at any of them for long. His artistic restlessness and curiosity were his lifeblood. And to stay with the metaphor, “Control” is a strong dose of that elixir.