In the early and mid-seventies, before I was born, the "Berlin School" of music operated as a sort of Tyrannosaurus Rex of the electronic scene. It was similar to classical minimalism, with phasing and counterpointed arrangements made with the latest in analog technology. Perhaps it can be seen as growing from a larger musical movement of the day, from a willingness to experiment with methods of creation previously unavailable to the musician. Wherever it came from--and it hardly matters to this particular modern listener where--this Berlin School produced some classics of the then-unformed and undefined ambient genre. When I was in my late teens, Berlin School classics like Moondawn by Klaus Schulze, Departure from the Northern Waste land by Michael Hoenig, and Rubycon by Tangerine Dream sounded like film music from seventies cartoons that never existed. I eagerly hunted down the professed classics of the scene, always thirsting for soundtracks to old comics I had, or date d science fiction stories I was familiar with. I reached the point where I had collected all I could find, and I thus began seeking newer artists who continued to carry the torch of a special time in electronic creation.

And I was disappointed with what I came up with. Apparently the T-Rex had become extinct. Too many of the newer Berlin School acolytes were content to repeat past glories--certainly the music was different compositionally, but as a musically uneducated listener, these newer works just didn't have the spark I loved about the "classics" nor did they seem to be interested in updating the sounds I knew so well into a modern experimental context.

Along comes Imprint by Hypnos label founder Mike Griffin and Dweller at the Threshold member Dave Fulton. I'd heard DATT before, and had found it to be in that latter, less interesting to me, class of Berlin School. I felt that I'd heard enough of that particular facet of the genre, and I wasn't particularly interesting in hearing more. Griffin and Fulton had put out a CD titled The Most Distant Point Known, which was not at all like DATT, but rather a deep space excursion that mixed lovely analog synth tones with more modern atmospherics similar to Griffin's work as Viridian Sun.

Having enjoyed that previous work very much, I bought Imprint with no hesitation. I'd even seen the two premiere the work at a heart-stopping Gathering show last year. When I originally purchased TD's Rubycon, I probably played the disc over and over for a month. It was a perfect little capsule of entrancing electronics--a capsule never bettered by the newer legions of e-musicians operating in a similar style. After my first listening of Imprint, I was totally hooked; it was li ke falling in love again with an older, familiar companion. It hardly left my player.

It is not overstatement to say that Griffin and Fulton have brought the classic e-music sound of the mid-seventies kicking and screaming into the digital age. This is no remake of older triumphs, but a complete expansion and inclusion of classic forms remodeled into a new, entrancing ambient music. Finally I was able to reconcile my tastes in Berlin School with the newer modern styles. This disc is trippy, experimen tal, and chock full of the little touches that made old Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze so very exciting to my younger mind. Just enough to excite me, but not enough to be a simple rehash.

Griffin and Fulton created a thematic score to dystopian visions, sprawling cityscapes--wonder and adventure on a very galactic level. The sheer drama of this music is apparent in every track, from the opening trance-like theme of "Please Identify" to the quasi-floater of "Levitation Before Sunrise." Most ambient and electronic music could function as a soundtrack to a movie or dramatic work, but this particular piece of music screams for a visual interpretation of some kind! The appreciator of classic Berlin School music owes it to himself to pick this sleeper release from Hypnos up. It's restored my faith that newer artists can create works on par with the old, while still carrying the freshness of vibrant young work.

I have a small selection of CDs I only pull out when the time is "right." I've got to have a book that matches the tone, or some special mood that allows maximum enjoyment of the CD. It's a small list of very excellent music, including Schulze's Timewind, and Hoenig's Departure. Now that very small list of very fantastic albums has a new addition: Imprint.

Another fine Hypnos offering to the electronic deities.

since July 15, 2003