Customer Reviews

Wunderbar

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So apparently this artist was murdered shortly before this was released in 1978.His musical colleagues having included Michael Rother and Wolfgang Flur, among others. And that becomes quite apparent upon hearing this release as it brings immediately to mind Kraftwerk, La Dusseldorf and Klaus Schultz. Though upon repeat listens this is much more than the sum of its aforementioned influences (perhaps its the other way around?).

One thing that really struck me is the strong sound of the production,taking into account this was recorded in 1977 - 78! It's mostly instrumental,with only occasional vocal mutterings sprinkled here and there so think more Klaus Schultz and La Dusseldorf as opposed to the electro pop of Kraftwerk that was recorded in this same time period. One of the tracks has a real slow,creepingly ominous feel like something straight off a John Carpenter soundtrack - remember, this is 77-78!

Excellent stuff that is becoming more brilliant with each subsequent listen. Recommended.

Reichman is sadlly long dead and this is must form his epitaph. Like the cosmetic club gothic image of Reichman on the cover, the music at once has a nostalgic slightly mournful presence yet is removed,screened and refined by layers of compositional choices. Often derided as picture music, these kinds of plangent rythmical synthesised works presaged much of what was to follow, from Techno beat, to dance, to trance to ambient. A multi-instrumentalist, Reichman was involved early in the seminal forces of the 70's Industrial sound from Germany. Reichman does a lot with a little. While not as instrumentally inventive or as lyrically pastoral as say, Cluster's Sowiesoso, Reichman's Wunderbar seems inspired by a more modified approach to nature, as is he was comtemplating life within a laboratory, studying perhaps the growth and collision of crystals. Like a Christopher Marlowe, tragically also stabbed in an incidnet, cut off in their prime, one can only surmise what might have followed. Still we can enjoy what has been left to us.