REVIEW: Kreidler, Weekend (Mute)
- Chris Hill
The German avant-garde band Kreidler trace their genesis back to a 1994 evening when Thomas Klein, Andreas Reihse, and Stefan Schneider, performing as three-piece Deux Baleines Blanches (Two White Whales), met DJ Detlef Weinrich (a.k.a. DJ Sport). Mutual admiration followed, and Kreidler was born, with Weinrich's turntable talent added to the trio's existing bass, drums, and electronic structure. Over the group's history, its members have explored sonic landscapes within and outside the band, most notably Schneider, who's also part of To Rococo Rot, the palindromic German experimental group.
The songs on Weekend, an album originally released in 1996, now seeing a 2000 U.S. release, entertain in an ambient, post-rock fashion, progressing like a Mobius strip around central, repeated rhythmic patterns, relying on the listener for the majority of the forward momentum.
This is not to say Kreidler takes a clinical and precise approach to their adventures. "La Capital" is a Mr. Freezy ice cream truck careening to avoid a yelping bunch of keyboard puppies. "If" bubbles to life with rich, oily notes, mixing vinyl scratching with a high hat for Krell lab ambience. "Lio" is a synth kitchen floor waxed to mirror shine, its notes and slapped drums sparkling in the afternoon sun.
"Reflections", one of two favorite tracks, doles out its elements (cycling keyboard, softly brushed drums, methodical bass) piecemeal until the combination falls from the sky at terminal velocity. It's one of the few tracks where the drums feel integral to the pacing, versus being atmospheric and colorful. This is the song that I'd pull as an introductory sample: "The first one's free, but the next one will cost you."
That second dose for the future addict would be "Shaun", a song where an eerie keyboard appears and disappears like Carel Struycken in "Twin Peaks", fading in to impart a revelation or a warning, then out with his mystery still intact.
Weekend is split between the familiar, classical arena of bass guitar and drums, and the electronic realm of keyboards and samples, for a simultaneously inviting and benevolently alien experience. Take a listen, and hear why Momus, David Bowie, and Stereolab number among their fans.
http://www.mute.com, for Mute Records, the band's U.S. label, http://www.freibank.com/kreidler/ for their German home.
