asmus tietchens: in die nacht

Bureau B reissues Asmus Tietchens' third solo album on Sky Records, originally released in 1982. It stands to reason that any musical journey undertaken by a skeptic like Asmus Tietchens is destined to head into the night (In die Nacht) rather than into the day. In die Nacht, the third album in the so-called time signal ("Zeitzeichen") phase, continuing in the same vein as Biotop and Spät-Europa, while laying down its own stylistic markers, no doubt attributable to the sizeable challenges facing the composer. Time, or the lack thereof, was the most pressing concern. With only a few weeks available in which to produce the record, he had to rein in his ambition. In the past, Tietchens had seldom allowed tracks to exceed three minutes in length, avoiding the effect of "musical drift"; hence, the ideas came thick and fast on his previous two albums. This time around, in creative terms -- and with all due meticulousness -- he needed to be more economical. Four of the tracks turned out far wider-ranging than they might have done under different circumstances. Ironically, these are the very pieces which lend the album its enduring character. The exuberantly stumbling rhythm of "Höhepunkt kleiner Mann" is as typical as the dark mood of the title-track, although jaunty and highly-charged tones creep into the latter. "Regenwald," on the other hand, carries the listener off to a magical sonic setting, a hypnotic allure underneath pulsating rhythms. Such a display of color is akin to the atmosphere of Max Ernst's jungle paintings. In technical terms, In die Nacht differed notably from its predecessors as Tietchens now had access to a Polymoog, enabling him to play chords. The Minimoog and rhythm machine he had used until then were deliberately pushed into the background; the drum machine in particular was drastically taken out of the mix. The creative versatility of this relatively modest equipment still appears remarkable today.