Formed in 1989, German guitar trio Maeror Tri (including Stefan Knappe,
who runs an avantgarde label) released a number of cassettes of
white noise halfway between Glenn Branca's symphonies,
Throbbing Gristle's early industrial
nightmares and future
Seefeel's ambient frescos.
Most of their work has been rediscovered after they disbanded.
During their lifetime, they released only 4 proper CDs, followed by several
posthumous anthologies. Alas, the core of their art is in the limited-edition
cassettes, only partially compiled on CD.
Dedicated To A New Dawn (Baracken Records, 1988)
Perception Kills (Baracken Records, 1988)
Peak Experience (Harsh Reality Music, 1989)
Somnia Et Expergisci (IRRE Tapes, 1990)
Ambient Dreams (ZNS Tapes, 1990 - Beta-Lactam Ring, 2007) was perhaps
the archetype of their art of using field recordings of natural sounds to
produce ghostly drones.
Sensuum Mendacia (Direction Music, 1991)
Subliminal Forces (Tonspur Tapes, 1991)
Hypnobasia (Old Europa Cafe, 1992)
Venenum (Audiofile Tape, 1992)
Saltatrix (Drone, 1993)
Yearning For The Secret(s) Of Nature (Fools Paradise, 1993)
Mind Reversal (Hithlahabuth, 1993)
Archaic States (G.R.O.S.S., 1993)
Ultimate Time (Old Europa Cafe, 1994)
Ambiguitas (Lebensraum, 1995)
The Beauty Of Sadness (Direction Music, 1996)
Hypnobasia/ Ultimate Time (Old Europa Cafe, 2005) collects two cassettes
from 1992 and 1994. The former is one of their most avantgarde works. The
second is a collection of rarities.
Their first CD,
Multiple Personality Disorder (Korm Plastics, 1993), was a concept
album (in four long parts, all recorded in 1991)
that served as a display of the techniques learned so far. Possibly
too cold and programmatic, the album failed to deliver the intensity of
some of the cassette pieces, although their mastery of distorting and layering
guitar sounds is in full display.
Their technique of layering and droning reached a peak with
Myein (ND, 1995 - Waystyx, 2005), a monumental work recorded in 1992 and 1993 and
divided in three lengthy suites
that well exemplify three aspects of their art:
the gothic droning of the Phlogiston,
the ambient electronica of Desiderium, and the
cosmic doodling of the 47-minute Myein.
A few singles offered less uncompromising relics of their guitar manipulations:
Physis (Fools Paradise, 1995),
Mystagogus (Noise Museum, 1995),
Exorbitant (Ant-Zen, 1996).
The Beauty Of Sadness (1996 - Tantric Harmonies, 2005) marked a
change in tone, towards a less menacing atmosphere.
The trio disbanded in 1996, right after
Language Of Flames And Sound (Old Europa Cafe, 1996),
recorded between 1992 and 1995 and containing
the 33-minute Origo,
but the flow of recordings did not stop.
Mort Aux Vaches (Staalplaat, 1997) was a symphony in three movements.
The music was not only thick and dense but also articulated across
a broad spectrum of emotions.
The posthumous Emotional Engramm (Irirs Light, 1997) is a collection
of unreleased tracks, by far their most accessible recording.
Meditamentum (Holonom- Manifold, 2005) and
Meditamentum II (Manifold, 1999) are compilations of (short) tracks from
the cassette-only editions and probably serve best as an introduction to the
trio.
Hypnotikum I (Soleilmoon, 1998) and
Hypnotikum II (Poeta Negra, 1999) are samples of live material.
The Singles (EE Tapes, 2005) collects Maeror Tri's four singles
from 1994 to 1998 (the tribal Physis,
the droning Mystagogus, Exorbitant, Pleroma of 1996).
Stefan Knappe also published albums under the moniker Troum
(which means "dream" in ancient German) that offer hypnotic tracks made
with acoustic instruments:
the limited-edition cassette
Dreaming Muzak (1998 - Kokeshidisk, 2008), containing gloomy static
guitar music,
Ryna (Myotis, 1998 - Transgredient, 2007),
the mediocre Sen (Mort Aux Vaches, 2000 - - Equation, 2008),
and the trilogy dedicated to the aboriginal word for "Dreamtime", "Tjukurppa":
Tjukurppa - Harmonies (Transgredient, 2000),
Tjukurppa - Drones (Transgredient, 2001) and
Tjukurppa - Rhythms And Pulsations (Transgredient, 2003).
Knappe seemed intent in creating a kind of pagan/shamanic ambient music,
while the four "circular" suites of Autopoiesis (Small Voices, 2004) and
the three lengthy tracks of droning guitars of
Nahtscato (Paranoise Records, 2005)
were more like studies on the organization of sound.
Dissolution (Fario, 2006) is a collaboration between Troum and
French industrial composer Christian Renou.
The picture disc Ajin (Equation, 2006) is a sample of Troum's
chamber droning and minimalist music.
Shutun (Old Europa Cafe, 2007) is a collaboration between Troum and
All Sides (Nina Kernicke's brainchild) that consists of a
single 51-minute piece, a superb example of how to transpose into music the
combination of biological metabolism, Freudian stream of consciousness,
sci-fi vision and cinematic soundscapes.
Troum's Aiws (Transgredient, 2007) was an analog lo-fi recording that
featured two ten-minute pieces, Ahmateins and [Ga]plaian,
of sublime ambient noise music, but no real standout.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Ascanio Borga)
Formatisi nel 1989, il trio chitarristico Maeror Tri (con Stefan Knappe, che ha anche fondato un'etichetta di avanguardia) pubblico' un certo numero di cassette di
rumore bianco a meta' strada tra le sinfonie di Glenn Branca, gli incubi industriali dei Throbbing Gristle e i futuri affreschi ambient dei Seefeel. La maggior parte
del loro lavoro e' stato riscoperto dopo che si erano sciolti. Durante la loro vita, pubblicarono soltanto 4 cd veri e propri, seguiti da diverse antologie postume.
Purtroppo, il cuore della loro arte e' nelle cassette ad edizione limitata, solo parzialmente compilate su cd.
Dedicated To A New Dawn (Baracken Records, 1988)
Perception Kills (Baracken Records, 1988)
Peak Experience (Harsh Reality Music, 1989)
Somnia Et Expergisci (IRRE Tapes, 1990)
Ambient Dreams (ZNS Tapes, 1990)
Sensuum Mendacia (Direction Music, 1991)
Subliminal Forces (Tonspur Tapes, 1991)
Hypnobasia (Old Europa Cafe, 1992)
Venenum (Audiofile Tape, 1992)
Saltatrix (Drone, 1993)
Yearning For The Secret(s) Of Nature (Fools Paradise, 1993)
Mind Reversal (Hithlahabuth, 1993)
Archaic States (G.R.O.S.S., 1993)
Ultimate Time (Old Europa Cafe, 1994)
Ambiguitas (Lebensraum, 1995)
The Beauty Of Sadness (Direction Music, 1996)
Il loro primo cd, Multiple Personality Disorder (Korm Plastics, 1993), fu un concept album (in quattro lunghe parti, tutte registrate nel 1991) che servi' come una
dimostrazione delle tecniche che avevano imparato sino ad allora. Forse troppo freddo e programmatico, l'album falli' nel trasmettere l'intensita' di alcuni dei pezzi
su cassetta, sebbene sia un esempio esauriente della loro maestria con i suoni stratificati di chitarra distorta.
La loro tecnica di stratificazione e di droning raggiunse un picco con Myein (ND, 1995 - Waystyx, 2005), un lavoro monumentale registrato tra il 1992 e il 1993, e
diviso in tre lunghe suite che ben esemplificano tre aspetti della loro arte: i droni gotici di Phlogiston, l'elettronica ambient di Desiderium, e i ghirigori cosmici
di Myein (47 minuti).
Un po' di singoli offrirono resti meno intransigenti delle loro manipolazioni chitarristiche: Physis (Fools Paradise, 1995), Mystagogus (Noise Museum, 1995), Exorbitant
(Ant-Zen, 1996).
The Beauty Of Sadness (1996 - Tantric Harmonies, 2005) segno' un cambio di tono, verso un'atmosfera meno minacciosa.
Il trio si sciolse nel 1996, subito dopo Language Of Flames And Sound (Old Europa Cafe, 1996), registrato tra il 1992 e il 1995 e contenente Origo (33 minuti), ma il
flusso di registrazioni non si fermo'.
Mort Aux Vaches (Staalplaat, 1997) fu una sinfonia in tre movimenti. La musica non era soltanto fitta e densa, ma anche articolata attraverso un largo spettro di emozioni.
Il postumo Emotional Engramm (Irirs Light, 1997) e' una collezione di inediti, di gran lunga la loro registrazione piu' accessibile. Meditamentum (Holonom- Manifold, 2005)
e Meditamentum II (Manifold, 1999) sono compilation di brani (brevi) tratti dalle edizioni in cassetta e probabilmente fungono al meglio come introduzione al trio.
Hypnotikum I (Soleilmoon, 1998) e Hypnotikum II (Poeta Negra, 1999) sono composti di materiale live.
Stefan Knappe ha in seguito pubblicato album con il monicker Troum (che significa "sogno" in tedesco arcaico) il quale offre brani ipnotici fatti con strumenti acustici:
Ryna (Myotis, 1998), e la trilogia dedicata alla parola aborigena per "tempo del sogno" ("dreamtime"), "Tjukurppa": Tjukurppa - Harmonies (Transgredient, 2000), Tjukurppa - Drones
(Transgredient, 2001) e Tjukurppa - Rhythms And Pulsations (Transgredient, 2003). Knappe sembra intento a creare un tipo di musica ambient pagana/sciamanica, mentre i
quattro brani "circolari" Autopoiesis (Small Voices, 2004) e i tre lunghi pezzi di droni chitarristici di Nahtscato (Paranoise Records, 2005) furono piu' simili a studi
sull'organizzazione del suono.
Hypnobasia/ Ultimate Time (Old Europa Cafe, 2005) contiene due cassette tra il 1992 e il 1994. La prima e' uno dei loro lavori piu' avanguardistici, la seconda e' una
compilation di rarita'.
The Singles (EE Tapes, 2005) contiene quattro singoli dei Maeror Tri tra il 1994 e il 1998 (la tribale Physis, i droni di Mystagogus, Exorbitant, Pleroma del 1996).
Autopoiesis (Small Voices, 2004) consiste di quattro tracce (di world-music ambientale) che si "cannibalizzano" l'una con l'altra.
Dissolution (Fario, 2006) e' una collaborazione col compositore industriale francese Christian Renou.
Il picture disc Ajin (Equation, 2006), e' un esempio della musica da camera minimalista e "per droni" di Troum.
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