Sand "Ultrasonic Seraphim"

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this is the best krautrock band/reissue i've never heard (until now). seriously amazing record

― XD (eman), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:27 (nineteen years ago)

How did we come to release the Golem album?
I met manfred Schunke in 1973. he lived a few streets from my place in Berlin-Charlottenburg, and he was working at his sound project "Nasses Dreieck" (Wet Triangle). Due to near-by tube constructions and a sinking ground-water level, a whole block of buidlings was sinking slowly into the Sand. All the blacks of flats were pulled down and Manfredrecorded this noise through an open window of his flat. I was very impressed with this noisy document of fragile civilisation and the power of underground waters.
In that year, Manfred Schunke and Klaus Schulze planned to build up a special music recording studio in berlin-Kreuzberg, Paul-Lincke-Ufer. They wanted to publish a set of albums in Kunstkopf-Stereophonie (Artificial Head Stereo Sound). So we entered into this project as SAND. We produced Golem in a traditional manner on an 8-track recording machine. But the mix-down was different. There was a room full of loudspeakers, hanging and standing in nearly every position that was possible. In the centre stood the Artificial Head with his imitation ear conches. For mixing the master-tape, the tracks were sent through the speakers into the isolation room, and then adapted by the Artificial Head. The aim was to get an illusion of perfect surrounding space. The idea was brilliant but unfortunately not the sound.
We were not really content with the result, in particular because of the loss of dynamics in relation to a normal stereo mix. But there are some amazing effects when you listen to the music wearing headphones. On the other hand we accept the Golem album as a realisation of our ideas under these typical experimental circumstances.

― XD (eman), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not feeling the folk-y solo stuff much, but the Golem album itself is brilliant.

― Toad Roundgrin (noodle vague), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, 'Helicopter' is fucking A' as you younger types would say. Blew me away the first time I heard it. Difficult to believe it's that old.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:53 (nineteen years ago)

i like all the bonus stuff, like "desert storm" and "power station", crazy shit

― XD (eman), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

I think it's just cos it doesn't seem as crazy in the context of the main album. I might try listening to it separately.

― Toad Roundgrin (noodle vague), Saturday, 8 July 2006 17:59 (nineteen years ago)

'Helicopter' is just so really creepy and reminds me of 'Apocalypse Now'.

"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right"

I agree the bonus gear is kinda coming from somewhere else.

― tolstoy (tolstoy), Saturday, 8 July 2006 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

His voice sounds a bit like Peter Hammill's on "Helicopter".

― Toad Roundgrin (noodle vague), Saturday, 8 July 2006 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

Great set indeed. Some oddness around the time the rerelease came out -- them good folks Windy and Carl were crashing with Donut and myself on a late nineties tour and either I'd just found this thing used or picked it up while out shopping with them, and Windy saw the cover and was seriously startled. Reason? They had just been on a split single with the reconstituted Silver Apples and the cover of the single was a total homage (ripoff?) of the Sand cover art! W&C had nothing to do with it -- I do love the way the world works.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 8 July 2006 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

i actually got email from a vester dude once because we played them on the radio. serrsly classic stuff from the weirder end of the krautrock spectrum.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Saturday, 8 July 2006 23:05 (nineteen years ago)

"may rain" is just embarrassingly good - great album.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Sunday, 9 July 2006 10:31 (nineteen years ago)

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