ENDGAME For almost 20
years brothers Steven and Alan Freeman have enlivened the English alternative music
panorama with quite a few initiatives: the 'Audion' magazine, which since its early
appearing imposed itself as a source for research or discoveries for progressive music
estimators; the mail order 'Ultima Thule'. now a shop in the centre of Leicester praising
the ideal Catalogue for estimators of krautrock, Rock In Opposition and experimental
music; the Auricle label, which published a series of legendary cassettes (such as Robert
Rich concerts, Lightwave first albums, Gunther Schickert & Djam Karet unpublished
work, Ole Hansen, David Prescott, Conrad Schnitzler, Asmus Tietchens and Peter Frohmader)
and now publishes CD-R; the recently established 'Ultimate Transmissions' label aimed to
publish official Cds; 'Audion Publication' publishing house, concerning music books such
as the wellknown krautrock enciclopedia 'The Crack In The Cosmic Egg'. An encyclopedia
regarding Italian Progressive is being made. The two amateur musicians brothers have
carried out lots or either solo- projects or ensemble-projects by chasing the ghosts of
'kosmische musik' as well as a certain European vanguard; their files include solo-work by
Alto Stratus, Biomechanoid, Zircon & The Burning Brains, Region 5, Darkstar, Electric
junk, Adhara, Vrije, Psychosis, they all affected by cosmic Germans, minimalism, both the
English experimental school (mostly Nurse With Wound) and the French one (Richard Pinhas,
Heldon) or Asmus Tietchens and Conrad Schnitzler abstractness.In 1999, the Freemans along
with psychedelic folk band Shapeshifters former guitarist Jim Tetlow, gave birth to the
Endgame and started a string of sound experiments grounding upon absolute schemelessness,
or total interaction/improvisation, on the track of the most loved sound, the one of
Tangerine Dreams' first four albums, or early Cluster, Faust, Cosmic jokers, Kraftwerk -
not without exploring in 'avant-garde' direction, with specific reference to Colonia
school (Stockhausen) or the French electro-acustic one (Henry, Schaeffer, Parmegiani), as
far as present day, with groups such as Lightwave. In their recording studio, the three
have collected song recordings for years, and they've now recorded a Cd-series (for
Ultimate Transmission) and also Cd-R (for Auricle) of great interest.
An official Cd evolving through the misty, fluctuating background of Tangerine
Dream's 'Zeit', good for trips down the depth of the universe. It's 4 very long,
complicated tracks of over two hours extremely intense music aiming to celebrate the width
of the universe through brave excursions inside electronic nonsense, huge sound expansion,
direction swings. We deal with pure, unpolluted creativity, free artistic expression,
smooth flooding of sound and frequencies, pure creativity, like being in a laboratory
where everything has been sacrificed in the name of research. A comparison with pioneers
of electronic music is possible, even binding, to an extent that my mind goes to Louis and
Bebe Barron, Walter Carlos, mostly to Tangerine Dream or Popol Vuh's 'Affenstunde'. We can
experience the same tension, electronic mysticism or holy dimension. To be listened to in
the dark, to ensure the crossing to another dimension. It's another
double record, with a cosmic direction in the first Cd and an acid, highly corrosive one
in the second. It's a mix of synths, guitars, effects of any kind, advanced vocal
treatments and controlled rumbling. In some passages only three guitars play, even though
one wouldn't say, because of the so high level of sound manipulation. Frequent beatings
typical of Conrad Schnitzler can be understood, or the misty, death panoramas by Asmus
Tietchens, or the industrial deserts by Kluster, or the robotic, early Kraftwerk, or the
abstractions by Harmonia. There is no lack of hints to Amon Duul's most experimental stage
either, or connections to a certain English space rock of the Seventies (Hawkwind, of
course). SURREAL ETHEREAL A quite appropriate title, this one, for a truly crazy album which mixes up
Surrealism and Dadaism with the ordinary krautrock. It's more Faust than Tangerine Dream,
chaos and Nihilism, strokes of uncompromised avant-garde (echoes from Pauline Oliveros or
Ellen Fullman), droning music Current 93-like, extended use of absurd vocalisations or
incomprehensible alien languages, of acid loops and metallic connections with Nocturnal
Emissions. Strangely, though, this is also one of the most comprehensible title in
Endgame's whole discography as there is no dislike for connections with a more classical
ambient music or early Pink Floyd and Soft Machine's boundary-rock. So far, this is the most disconnected/ chaotic, entangled or enigmatic album
ever, with dark visions and undue influences, acoustic oddity, inventions on the verge of
both Orthodoxy and uncontrolled derailment. This is probably not the best way to get in
touch with the Endgame reality, which in this very context seemed to be a destructive sort
of reality rather than a constructive one. It's a soundtrack for an imaginary journey which begins in the heart of a city
and leads to wild Nature. Heavy rambling, field-recordings and urban sounds are plunged
into an electronic nervous liquid and interact with effects of any kind, along with either
desolated or industrial surroundings, tense for the most. Jim Tetlow also plays a
didgeridoo, and he also uses his voice to create totally unusual, unreal effects. It's
sound realism at its highest level, for a such harsh work. It's a compilation made of material which was probably cut out of the early
albums, containing different directions or characteristics, such as ambient, cosmic or
abstract tracks, and listening to it is invariably a visionary experience. Many analogies
with a certain stage of Propeller Island can be found here, even if Lars Stroschen's
skills are much higher-minded, if compared to Tangerine Dream's in 'Electronic Meditation'
and 'Alpha Centauri'. he
craziest, most unreal, incredible piece of the entire discography: adouble Cd which would
properly describe the infinite, and which provides the sense of proportion of the
Universe. Tiny , almost molecular sounds, but also big synthetic accumulations, sudden
spreadings, sounding abyss which suddenly appear in front of us. The whole electronic
dockyard is squeezed to its very last drop, in order to obtain absurd vocalisations,
denaturated guitars, a constant tension and unimaginable scenarios. Other than the
instruments (mostly played in an unconventional way), the three musicians also use tape
loops, gadgets, toys, cans, magnetic tapes, with the only aim to generate an uninterrupted
flowing of hybrid, complicated, unrecognisable kind of sound, a pretty odd experience
combination in the field of cosmic and avant-garde music. The harmony amongst the three
musicians is remarkable, as well as the interplay, which leads to the most brilliant
excursions through dissonance, traditional electronic examples and experiments within
reach at present days. It's an official double Cd.It's worth saying just a few words about
Jim Tetlow. His solo work ('Synopse', 'Oneiromancer' and 'Heart Of Glass') penetrate the
kingdoms of pure sound, getting close to natural and electronic atmospheres which generate
from manipulating loops, frequencies and sequences within real time.One peculiarity of
every Endgame's Cd-R is the absence of the sticky label on the disk, on which appears a
pen-sign instead; a way, that one, according to Freeman, to guarantee the Cd's long life
by avoiding glue corrosion. Nothing to say about the covers, which are truly beautiful and
diligently cured, very often inspired by M.C. Escher's work (a true love for the two!) or
by certain sci-fi illustrators'. Endgame brings the mind back to the Seventies, to the
Pillory of exsperimental creativity. It's a group who is having fun reaching great
results. |