43 minutes, 24 seconds

Ulrich Schnauss
Far Away Trains Passing By (CD 1 of 2)

In the early '90s, I suppose this would have been called "chill-out" music. But that term always rubbed me the wrong way--it was a way of describing the music not for what it is (ambient) but rather for what it isn't (thumping dance music). In other words, it was what you listened to to take a break from techno.

Well, phooey. I always preferred the "chill-out" stuff to the stuff you were supposed to work up a sweat dancing to anyway. Hence an affinity to Ulrich Schnauss and his ethereal doodlings. This particular album has a bit of a Robin Guthrie vibe, if the dreamy guitars were being filtered through Photophob's spacey, computer-driven musical sensibility. Schnauss is getting a good deal of press these days for his new album, Goodbye, which adds vocals to the mix, but I prefer the older material here. It's starker and more mysterious.

I also like saying the name "Schnauss."

Also today:

43:21 Fin de Siècle, Sans Titre
43:20 Blixa Bargeld, Commissioned Music
43:19 Caul, Apophasis
43:19 Dark Ages, Twilight of Europe
43:17 Abnocto, Simon Magus
43:17 Dead Man's Hill, The Demons of Death
43:17 Mediæval Bæbes, Salva Nos
New arrival! 65:28 Herwig Holzmann, How to Stop...
43:16 Monolith, Compressed Form
43:16 Tony Wakeford, Into the Woods
43:15 Skinny Puppy, The Process
43:15 Stalingrad, Court-Martial
43:12 In the Nursery, Groundloop
43:10 Stiff Miners, Vox Celesta
43:07 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd, Before the Day Breaks