Harking back to Ulrich's fledgling recording days, this trim (in number rather than duration) collection of tunes, under the most intriguing of monikers, failed in its bid to secure record store shelve space when the distribution deal went awry.
How tragic is this? Well, quite frankly, nothing short of calamitous I would proffer.
At such a time, Ulrich was already working on material under the guise of View To The Future, but it would be his recordings as Police In Cars With Headphones that would emerge as finished album product. Though not wholly seminal, Wegwerfgesellschaft (just rolls of the tongue, doesn’t it?) is an utterly absorbing, strangely hypnotic and guilefully crafted opus that belies the composer’s (very) tender years - just nineteen at the time! Whereas Ulrich would go on to release full-length ambient / drum n bass releases, as the previously mentioned View To The Future (1997), as well as Ethereal 77 (1999), and garner commercial success with recordings under his own name, I feel that Wegwerfgesellschaft is worthy of the title of Landmark within his repertoire. At least for the time being.
Album opener, "Weihnachtsgeschenke Für Die Familie" (what is it with the titles?) begins as an edgy piece that in time smooths out to great melodic effect - for me the album's showpiece. By far and away the most commercially accessible track on offer here is "Tetra Pek" - industrial, metallic beats (a la Kraftwerk) swathed in a warm, velvety lushness. In stark contrast, "Death Of A Junk Colibri" might well send shivers down your spine with its overt sinisterness.
I wonder, what do police in cars with headphones really listen to...? Well, they'd probably listen to this music if they could, but the crime is that it's not available... However, as the Ulrich Schnauss fanbase continues to swell, it's only a matter of time, I feel!

I've always considered Christ's work to be enigmatically unquantifiable, as if his musical message (if, of course, there is one) is not to be found within his quirky melodies, but instead deeply embedded in the very fabric of his composition. Such unfathomableness within one's music might well ostracise some, but for others it serves up an enticing challenge. Lifting the lid on Blue Shift Emissions is an intriguing affair, to say the very least "Stained Century", "Breathe Between Sleep" and "Vernor Vinge" hark back to Christ's halcyon "Pylonesque" days, where as the veil of mystery is lifted, albeit temporarily, on the album's most accessible track, Cordate - a rather simple, but nonetheless memorable, synth-drenched opus. However, the fabulously obscure "Happyfour Twenty" steals the show, at least for me. Now this is a song that's guaranteed to pleasantly befuddle the most ardent of listeners.

When it comes to recording the next album, I would not suggest more of the same, but instead MUCH more!
For now, however, and at the risk of sounding blasphemous, not to mention a smidge corny.... Thank God for Christ!

Ok, here's something of a musical conundrum: Did Greg Scanavino change his name to one William Cheshire, and record this quite ruthlessly percussive album under the guise of Drift Pioneer, some two years after his fabled Young American Primitive debut?
I suspect not, but this YAP-happy affair frequently begs comparison, and that with all due respect, to the aforementioned, William Cheshire.
As the album opener “Fan” pulls you in with its heady mix of tribal stomp, swathed in typical mid-90s synth gusto, the proceeding cut, “Haberdasher”, will have you cavorting around in an unbridled show of euphoria. Damn, this is a good tune! The title track follows, and holds its own, as indeed does “Ultra-Micro”, but alas we head into a musical cul-de-sac with the penultimate, and overly-long, “Swimmer”.
The enjoyable, but somehow out of place “Silver” concludes Drift Pioneer's one and only release.

Overall, I'm quite a fan of this unheralded release, which by the way is about as easy to find as a good time at an insurance seminar... Hell, it's rarer than that even!
Wonder what happened to William Cheshire? Please don't tell me he's selling insurance policies!

As Skinny Puppy side-projects go, the Doubting Thomas debut is nothing short of a classic in its own right. With some of the industrial leanings of their SP recordings, though definitely less raucous, this, their first non-canine release, has more than enough bite to keep you hooked.
The opening title track, awash with snatches of dialogue from vintage horror movies (& Chaz Sheen's infamous one-liner lifted from Platoon) sits up and begs to be listened to... again and again... As indeed does the rest of the content on offer here.
But for the untimely demise of cEvin Key's partner in crime on this project, Dwayne R. Goettel, there's NO DOUBT that
they would've continued to spellbind with further releases.

If ever there was an album that sounded like the score to a sci-fi movie, that in fact had never been made, then this is it. Replete with sci-fi sound effects, not to mention song titles you'd expect to see on a sci-fi soundtrack, Embody is a dark and brooding experience that draws you in from the very outset.
I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying the themes here were more than likely inspired by a certain blockbuster sc-fi movie from the early 80s. Oh yes, and employing the use of the name R.Deckard as song composer more than suggests Bill Leeb's & Rhys Fulber's admiration for unsaid film... Which movie? You do the math!

Ardent fans of Ulrich Schnauss need no introduction to the fact that he knows his way around the recording studio in much the same way as fellow countryman, Michael Schumacher, knows his way around an F1 circuit.

To continue the analogy, as Schumacher revelled in eating up the track, Schnauss, on this particular outing and in stark contrast to the work he would go on to produce, races across the keys in a similarly assured style.
The overall effect is nothing short of rivetingly frenetic, as sparkling synth melodies attempt to seduce Intelligent Drum n Bass. Stand out tracks, at least for me, include Religion, Ultrablue and the impossibly fascinating Somnambulism.

I think it's fair to say that Schnauss crosses the finishing line with a roar of triumph... Or should that be with a roar of Ferrari?

How does one go about following up a classic chill out debut? Well, in the case of Orbient, they opted to place more of an emphasis on traditional song structure and vocal lines for their sophomore release. Something of a different animal altogether, Re-Entry tends to access different areas of one's mind compared to that of debut, Music For The ISS.
The beat-filled, dreamy soundscapes still exist, and indeed hit the mark, but I tend to feel they overdid the vocal content this time around. That said, there's still some mighty fine tunes on offer here, including Steps To Believe, Loopium, First Floor & Play.

As with their debut, this release was panned by some, and ignored by many... One rather feels that Re-entry fell to earth with far too harsh a bump!

In terms of commercial success, it seems Orbient's Music For The ISS slipped under the radar upon its release back in 2001. Perhaps its lofty subject matter placed it over and above any radar search activity? The thing is, this stunning debut simply begs to be listened to. Oozing class, style and sophistication, Music For The ISS is quite simply heads and shoulders above the mire of inane 21st century chill out music that clogs the shelves of record stores.

This truly is an album that you can play whilst the lights are dimmed... and gently drift onto another plane.
For me, it has become nothing short of a steadfast musical companion.

When Greg Scanavino created his seminal eponymous debut back in '93, I feel sure he had no idea of the record company shenanigans that would follow with the now legendary non-release of African Cosmopolitan. This most avidly anticipated collection of songs suffered immensely from mistiming, not to mention the all-too cruel hiatus between the release of his first outing.

Upon aural scrutiny of the unreleased content of African Cosmopolitan, it is only too apparent that this was a rush job. Despite starting off with some promise, most notably with the track, Emergence, the quality dulls somewhat, where as Nonwhere temporarily lifts the proceedings.
As for the cut, Energy & Information... what was he thinking?

This guy was a talent, and despite seemingly peaking on his debut, Greg should be sought, re-installed into a suitably decent studio, and given more than a modicum of time to deliver what should've arrived a decade ago.