Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Deliver to Austria
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.

Venice

Format: Audio CD
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
See all 12 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Hardcover
$26.95
$26.95 —
Paperback
$15.95
$15.95 —

Product details

  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 4.97 x 0.54 inches; 2.83 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ CIRCUL8TION
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ February 12, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ CIRCUL8TION
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0001W2YTW
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

RItchie
4.0 out of 5 stars alone music. its perfect
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2004
its the perfect music for people who are living alone (i say that in a good way)... my girlfriend is more than 1000 plus miles away and my friends and family as well. i sit and i listen to fennesz and he makes me happy. its perfect music for people who are alone. its perfect.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
treblekicker
5.0 out of 5 stars Pitchforkmedia Review; 8.6 out of 10.0; Exceptional
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2004
In an interview with The Wire last year, Kid606 let slip that, like many electronic producers in his sphere, he could create an album in one night. He asserts that the software has gotten so good that making tracks is just that easy: Talent is kinda nice-- and probably adds something to the equation-- but it's not really required. There's no question that the perceptible dip in interest in experimental electronic music in recent years has something to do with the fact that there are so many labels, artists, and, above all, records that don't sound different enough from one another to warrant special attention.
But then there's Christian Fennesz. When it comes to recording under his own name, Fennesz works slowly: Venice is only his fourth full-length studio album in seven years, and his first since 2001's groundbreaking Endless Summer, which altered the perception of experimental electronic music with pop leanings. Fennesz has remained busy by remixing, collaborating, touring (both on his own and with FennO'Berg), and re-releasing his back catalog, but-- considering Kid606's admission-- three years is a long time between albums for an artist such as Fennesz.
With every album, Fennesz's music has become prettier and more accessible yet still retains his distinctive style-- and Venice is no exception. That's fortunate for the uninitiated because as Fennesz's reputation has grown, each new offering has served as the perfect introduction to his work. "Rivers of Sand" opens Venice with deep bass pedals working against pinched swoons of feedback. It's completely electronic, but this piece would also sound fantastic in an arrangement for strings. "Château Rouge" is in the vein of the bent instrumental pop of Endless Summer, with what sounds like an organ melody (simple, just a few notes) beset by synth gurgles and pinstripe bands of white noise. Its "middle-eight" is vertical howls of machine noise, but its purpose is the same as the bridge of any pop song-- to offer a variation on the themes presented earlier. "The Other Face" also feels as if Fennesz were taking some of the ideas from Endless Summer and pushing them in a different direction, here adding ethereal vocal samples to the buzzing mix.
The short track "onsra" serves as an intro to Venice's centerpiece, "Circassian", which was written and performed with fellow avant guitarist Burkhard Stangl (who has previously worked with Fennesz as a member of Polwechsel). When people talk about Fennesz's Kevin Shields fixation they're thinking of tracks like this. "Circassian" drowns in loud, slightly out-of-tune power chords, each of which leads a long and happy life after the initial strum. The string reverberations multiply and mutate endlessly, making it possible to imagine cathedrals, a jet airplane passing through billowy clouds at 500mph, or the volatile racket of a tropical storm. Markus Schmickler gave it a shot, but no one does neo-shoegaze laprock as well as Fennesz.
On Venice, Fennesz also continues to dabble with pop. Last year, he collaborated with David Sylvian on the former Japan singer's Blemish, and that partnership continues here with "Transit". When a record contains only a single vocal track, the tendency is to place too much focus on it. That anomalous track always seems destined to summarize or "explain" the record somehow, yet the particular concerns voiced by Sylvian on "Transit" don't blend easily with its abstract aesthetic joys. Still, as a song, it works well and would have made a nice non-album single. Fennesz has demonstrated a sympathetic yet adventurous ear when supporting vocalists. On "Transit", a low organ sound anchors the tune but all sorts of strange explosions do the real work, simultaneously marking the changes and shifts in the song and reinforcing its structure. Fennesz flirts with a different kind of conventionality with "Laguna", a guitar duet with Stangl with a serious Morricone vibe.
Venice's quality extends beyond its sound. Touch proprietor Jon Wozencroft-- through his breathtaking design and photography-- continues to fight the good fight against records-as-pure-data by making the CD a value-added prospect. More importantly, the music is of a high standard. One thing that is made clear by Venice is that Fennesz is a composer who spends as much or more time crafting melodies and chords as he does searching for the perfect texture. He works regularly with improvisers, but his records under him own name could not be more orderly, with discrete sections carefully structured to maximize their emotional impact. (The symphonic nature of last year's Live in Japan is strongly present here.) Thanks in part to that emotional heft, I have a feeling that long after many of the experimental electronic records from the past ten years disappear, we'll continue to reach for the works of Fennesz.
-Mark Richardson, April 1st, 2004
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Donkey Dick
5.0 out of 5 stars An effect that's impossible to describe.
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2004
Christian Fennesz's ambient, electronic experimentation is the absolute last thing I should be listening to, but thanks to Pitchfork Media's recommendations, and during a highly experimental phase in my life, I picked up his previous album, "Endless Summer."

While I never quite was privy to the brilliance it was reported to contain, I was nevertheless rather impressed at the way Fennesz could break down noise to its bare essentials, and how he would bury a melody so deep in dissonance, it would somehow make it even more powerful.

"Venice" is much more subtle than "Endless Summer," and I suppose by IDM or experimental standards, more accessible, but its hypnotic quality and breathtaking beauty are often too much to handle. It's quiet music that needs to played loud, very loud, and uninterrupted. It's 5-minute gurgly drones with embedded tunefulness that somehow completely swallow you from start to finish. And more importantly, it's music that I should not like for any reason, that I regard as some of the best I've ever heard.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
bogdi
5.0 out of 5 stars yoda would come up with a better title for this review ;-)
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2004
as far as Fennesz goes, I've heard Venice and Endless Summer. I enjoyed Venice a lot more; it feels like the textured sound is more thoroughly explored = more interesting. Venice isn't a departure in sound but it is rounder and more focused. It flows very well as an album, which is why I won't go into specific songs.
at first I thought the vocals on Transit were anticlimatic for the general flow of the CD. I've changed my mind since. They do fit the song very well, eventhough I still prefer the instrumental tracks.
if you're in the market for something layered and enveloping without it being emotionally taxing, something that fits an introspective mood, don't hesitate to go for Venice. I personally find it very inspiring for intellectual pursuits or just for hanging out at home on a rainy day.
ps: I think the cover reflects the mood quite well :-)
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
"guymart14"
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2005
This is an absolute masterepiece.
This is the future sound of electronic music. The treatments through the laptop really create a dreamy mood. The only vocal track has David Sylvian - his voice kind of wakes you from the hypnotic state you are in for the first 7 tunes. Transit is a beautiful song.
Fennesz is someone who desires a little more press than he gets. In many ways, it's best that he is a hidden gem. Can't wait for more material from him. He is releasing material w. Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2005 & 2006.
Don't buy this from Touch Records directly (UK pounds & shipping will kill ya) - better from hmv.ca or soleilmoon.com
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars mmmmmm
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2004
ive decided that this is one of the best things happening in music right now. his sensitivity is unmatched. textures of all kinds having wonderful things done to them. A warm blanket. a warm bath. the warmth of the sun. for those dreamy nights this is your drug. for those beautiful summer days, this is your drug. dig it, or dont.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report