ULRICH SCHNAUSS
Deaf Institute, Manchester | March 20th
Ulrich Schnauss is a German electronic musician celebrated for his inspired fusing of ambient techno and broken beats with shoegaze and dreamy production. On record his music is compelling and intelligent; beautifully-crafted chillout soundscapes akin to a beat-infused Tangerine Dream, or a My Bloody Valentine who pursued the ‘90s dance scene a bit further and ditched their guitars (can you imagine?).
As such, he has a valuable admirer in Rob da Bank, who regularly invites Schnauss to perform at Bestival, positing him in the heart of the festival’s enchanted forest on several occasions to provide an extra sense of atmospheric quality to his vibrant and ethereal compositions. Before the release of February’s A Long Way to Fall it had become somewhat rare to catch a performance in the UK outside these occasional festival glances, so Crack jumped at the chance to see him grace Manchester’s Deaf Institute.
A true architect, Schnauss spent a lengthy period of time meticulously preparing his apparatus before his performance, preparing for what would be a non-stop and thoroughly detailed blanket of engulfing ambience, nebulous melodies and invigorating rhythms. From the first warm, synthesized chord of A Forgotten Birthday, Schnauss and his onstage partner were completely embedded in their instruments, barely providing the transfixed audience a chance to voice their enchantment. Selections from his lavish back catalogue were effortlessly segued into one another in a permanent wall of blissful electronica, whilst amorphous projections lit up the room with hypnotic vibrancy. At times the immense volume was almost unbearable, but it only added to the richness of the beautifully-crafted sound.
As such, it was a true disappointment upon Schnauss’s return to the stage after set-closer A Ritual in Time and Death that he mournfully announced that he’d blown the fuse in one of his many complex machines, bashfully admitting “Maybe that last bit was a bit too loud”. But it couldn’t have been a better end to the show. To see such a humble and earnest musician reacting with such gratitude to the rapturous and extended applause, Crack would pass on an encore any time.
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Words: James Balmont
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