Gunter Schickert - Nachtfalter

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 26 / 3 / 2019

Label: Bureau B
Format: CD

Versatlie and highly original latest album from veteran krautrock guitarist Gunter Schickert

Review

'Nachtfalter' a waltz composed by Johann Strauss II. and first performed in Vienna in 1854, could be considered to be only loosely related to this mind warp of an album. Schickert's first LP goes back to 1975 and, crawling over the snares like a hypnotized spider on 'Nachfalter', he has woven together half a dozen mind0bending compositions. 'Nachtfalter' smoothly soothes the ear, with its reverbs from past decades The gentle patterns of 'Flügelschlag' recall Durutti Column and throw back to the mid-1980s, but swing lean and clean, and impulses aimed at the hips prove hard to suppress. No matter how much I'd wish, I can't flap my wings to it. The right response to 'Flügelschlag' would be that though. Günther Schickert's chords, interwoven with Andreas Spechtl's drums, come to a stunning high on the album's second contribution 'Ceiling'. 'Flügelschlag' translates from German as 'wing hit', Schickert takes on the role of a desert eagle, strategically hanging above ground. One moment you may decide to fly away. The next you'd want to go back. The beat-driven 'Wohin' takes this trip into sound to a new level with its hammering percussion eventually dissolving into the melodies. Next, up, 'Light' provides mayhem that recalls the heyday of Sonic Youth, and one starts to wonder where this flight could lead to. Somehow, the album sums up several decades of music, collects the main ingredients and churns out a highly original set of beguiling compositions.