A Strangely Isolated Place

Ulrich Schnauss

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 2004)
• Original Release Date: May 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Domino
• ASIN: B0002CHK18
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,517 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #16 in	Music > Dance & Electronic > Techno
  #45 in	Music > Dance & Electronic > Ambient
  #47 in	Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ulrich Schnauss's A Strangely Isolated Place was released in Europe during May of 2003, but fans had to wait over a year for it to arrive on these shores. The Berliner's follow-up to Far Away Trains Passing By is another gentle and fascinating record, similarly drunk with melody. But Schnauss has augmented his electro-synth sound with tsunamis of huge, arching major chords that rival M83's over-the-top lushness. Shoegazer influences show up in the Slowdive-esque "Gone Forever," as well as the My Bloody Valentine buzz in "Clear Day". Despite Place's ethereal sheen, the bones of solid dance-ability are also here, as several clever DJs have already noted (see Sasha's use of "On My Own" for Involver). The record could use a few well-placed batches of noise to act as counterpoint, but long-suffering fans of early Cocteau Twins looking for a fix of dreamy songcraft should find much to love. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

The domestic version of Schnauss' second album, originally released by Berlin/Manchester's City Centre Offices in May '03. Fuses the ambient electronics of Eno & Boards of Canada with Slowdive & My Bloody Valentine, with an emphasis on melody.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sunsets Put To Music, December 29, 2006

By	Mark Eremite "This Is A Display Model Only" (Seoul, South Korea) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In the past (before I listened to this record) whenever I heard someone describe an album or artist as "lush" (see M83) or "noise driven" (see My Bloody Valentine) or "ethereal" (see Boards of Canada), I usually just hummed and nodded in half-acknowledged understanding. Those are pretty ambiguous adjectives, I used to think.

Now I get it.

In this album, Ulrich Schnause uses broad, rushing sweeps of sound (think static, think airplanes taking off, think blood pumping in your ears) to make some of the most evocative music I have heard in a long time. If not ever.

This is an album that is supremely bittersweet, sandwiching layer upon layer of honest emotion between rich, achingly beautiful chords. Driven by a pulse that is strong but never insistent and colored by a hue that is subtle but impossible to ignore, this album exemplifies everything that the words "lush," "noise driven," and "ethereal" could ever possibly mean. If I didn't think it would devalue (and ultimately demean) the record, I would try to explain the heart-breaking beauty of each and every song on this CD. As it is, I'll just say that every song is just as gorgeous as the next, and the sum total is something that is quite seriously a work of art and a treasure to own.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious, Haunting, Eerily Familiar, December 11, 2005

By	Simeon Hein "Planetary Intelligence author" (www.OpeningMinds.info, Boulder, CO, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album is sure to find a special place in your heart. Schnaus' melodies have a way of getting under your skin. They will remind of places you have been a long time ago. It's almost as if Schnaus were talking to the listener through music. Some of the songs are uplifting, others have a more classic "chill" sound. Either way, you are bound to find this CD intriguing and beautiful. It makes good listening in almost any context.

(Simeon Hein is the author of OPENING MINDS and PLANETARY INTELLIGENCE and composer of the CDs EARTH DREAMING and OPENING SKIES.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have listened to this album..., January 20, 2007

By	Felix Matathias (Manhattan, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

in the city streets, at home, out in the country, when it was rainy, when it was cloudy and it has always clicked.
For years I have been trying to find the Vangelis and Jarres of our era and Ulrich Schnauss comes pretty close. Very synthetic and organic melodies that transcend to many levels is what makes his melodies subtly addictive.
If you like this check Barbara Morgenstern out, start with "The Grass is Always Greener". And obviously Boards of Canada, any album.