CONRAD SCHNITZLER & WOLF SEQUENZA – Consequenz III

Schnitzler’s collaborations with Wolf Sequenza aka Wolfgang Seidel occupy a special place in his vast musical output. They brought him closer to pop music than ever before or since, with the possible exception of “Berlin Express” and “Auf dem schwarzen Kanal”. Following “Consequenz” (BB 121) and “Con 3” (BB 122), “Consequenz III” is now the third album to be released from this phase of his work. Peter Baumann (formerly of Tangerine Dream) also played an important role in “Consequenz III”. As so often before, Baumann generously provided Schnitzler and Seidel with studio space at his Paragon Studio. The recordings for this album were the immediate continuation of “Con 3”. Seidel’s additional drums and percussion were still being set up, Schnitzler’s Korg MS 10 and the obligatory sequencer were still warm – and another recording session began straight away. There seemed to be enough time to finish an album. Baumann’s Paragon Studio was a veritable El Dorado. Although Schnitzler and Seidel used their own comparatively modest setups, here they had access to highly professional recording equipment and an acoustically ideal recording space. And then there was British sound engineer Will Roper, a studio nerd in a class of his own, who had already provided extremely constructive and sensitive advice and, above all, practical support to the two musicians on “Con 3” and now also on “Consequenz III”. This was no longer home recording with one or two tape machines; this was top-notch recording technology. “Consequenz III” follows on directly from the two previous albums. Once again, the pieces sound almost like pop music, once again they are rhythmically and harmoniously structured, once again they are between three and four minutes long. And once again, they are not 100% pop music, but rather a balancing act between strict, abstract seriality and contemporary electronics: no melodies, no vocals, and it’s up to each listener to decide whether the pieces are danceable. Rather, the eleven pieces are rhythmic études or finger exercises, especially for Seidel, who once again plays with incredible precision, as if he were a sequencer himself. It is not for nothing that Schnitzler gave him the pseudonym Wolf Sequenza for their joint productions. Musicians such as Wolfgang Seidel continue to lend Schnitzler’s sonic universe additional radiance. The fact that the pieces on “Consequenz III” have already been released in 2006 by the Japanese label Captain Trip under the title “Consequenz 2 +” was probably only noticed by very few Schnitzler fans outside Japan. Only a small number of the limited edition ever reached Europe, and sold out in no time. “Consequenz III” therefore reissues material that was previously known only to a few. And there’s no end to it: Schnitzler left behind music that was either only released in very small editions (e.g. on cassettes or CDRs) or has never been released at all. There is still plenty to discover in the various archives. Will we ever get to know the “whole Schnitzler”? I don’t think so.