Moebius Story Leidecker - Familiar

by Keith How

published: 19 / 11 / 2017

Label: Bureau B
Format: CD

Electronic musicians Tim Story and John Leidecker complete experimental works on joint second album that they began with the late Dieter Moebius who died in 2015

Review

In 2012 sound artist Jon Leidecker contacted ambient master Tim Story and the legendary Dieter Moebius (Cluster) to explore the possibility of a collaboration. The three electronic musicians gathered at Snowghost studio located above Whitefish Lake in the mountains of Montana. The result of the experience can be heard on the album 'Snowghost Pieces'. The tracks presented on this album were also recorded during this period but the passing of Dieter Mobius in 2015 casts a long shadow over the outcome. Where 'Snowghost' appears bright, minimal and edgy 'Familiar' has a different sonic landscape. The opening three tracks are dark brooding affairs that bubble and murmer ominously, machines in mourning for Dieter. They appear to be holding some kind of ceremonial mass for the departed creator with a hypnotic alien groove giving the sense of being trapped in a futuristic computer game. The title track refers to both Custer and Eno in a most complimentary manner. 'We Need You in Our Soups' offers a sense of hope. A simple piano motif over the electronic textures and for the first time you begin to feel an openness that the composers might have experienced from the mountains that surrounded them. This warm and peaceful offering could be the album's masterpiece. The German avant-garde is never far away, and 'Block Blow' throbs and pulses in a satisfying and “familiar” manner. The added techno beats add to an increasing surreal atmosphere. 'Vexed' closes the album and brings Tim Story’s 'Glass Green' period to mind with a tender opening sequence. A quiet ambient piece fifteen minutes long, it comes complete with strange electronic noises and gurgles and a deep percussive heartbeat that provides a canvas for experimentation. The warm atmosphere reflects a strange terrain with subversive and unexpected twists and turns. Congratulations to Jon Liedecker and Tim Story who have honoured Dieter Mobius in the construction of this excellent album.