conrad schnitzler: kollektion 05

Things come full circle. In 1976 Thomas Fehlmann arrives in Hamburg to study art at the Hamburg University of Fine Arts. In 1979 he attends a guest lecture by Conrad Schnitzler, who demonstrates how the "extended definition of art" established by Joseph Beuys can be applied to music. This proves to be a crucial element in Fehlmann's decision to become a musician. And now, in 2015, over 35 years later, Fehlmann has compiled the fifth installment in Bureau B's Kollektion series, arranging, in uniquely harmonious fashion, 16 pieces from the early 1980s by the man who broadened his horizons, Conrad Schnitzler. The gateway to Schnitzler's sonic cosmos has been flung wide open. Conrad Schnitzler (1937-2011), composer and concept artist, was one of the most important representatives of Germany's electronic music avant-garde. A student of Joseph Beuys, he founded Berlin's legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab, a subculture club, in 1967/'68, was a member of Tangerine Dream (together with Klaus Schulze and Edgar Froese) and Kluster (with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius), and released countless solo albums. Thomas Fehlmann rose to prominence in the seminal band Palais Schaumburg with Holger Hiller. Their debut album in 1981 was a milestone in German post-punk music. In 1988 Fehlmann founded the Teutonic Beats label and in 1990 he became a member of The Orb. He has played an important role in Berlin's electronic and club scenes ever since, as a musician, producer, remixer, and DJ. Thomas Fehlmann on this Kollektion: "I have strung together various pieces from Conrad Schnitzler's white period -- the CON series -- in a seamless arrangement which creates its own state of dramatic tension. The tracks retain their original form and tempo. This is not a study in montage. I have restricted myself to picking the right moment to move from one piece to the next, cross-fading. Okay, I did edit one track... I was looking for a form which would condense Conrad Schnitzler's versatility, his inventiveness and wit into a single journey. The new running order adds a certain friction to the aura of each as new connections are made. My choices were musical, not chronological, bathing these works from the early 1980s in new sensuous light. It is quite remarkable to see how intensely the sparks still fly. Preparing this collection closes an elementary circle in my life, without which I may have followed a completely different path.