CD – Arjunamusic

The elegiac passages that open this release from Arjunamusic Records immediately take us back to the electronic music of yesteryear modulated in real time. A type of musical performance that in the pre-internet era was decidedly more complex to achieve given the few options available. It was around this time that Sun Electric – Max Loderbauer and Tom Thiel – began to take their first steps into electronic exploration. This recording dates back to 1996 from a live set at the Votivkirche, one of the most important Catholic places of worship in Vienna. The sounds that we now hear are imbued with a fascination for ‘kosmische’ music, something the two musicians claim not to be ‘nostalgic’ for, but rather regard as ‘an important part of the musical dialogue of the present’, a way to question how today a certain approach can still be valid. The dense and layered sounds that emerge from the electronic improvisations seem to envelop the listener, creating an almost liturgical experience, perfectly in tune with the sacred setting of the Votivkirche. Even the dialogue that arises between the analog and digital synths is fluid, built on slowly evolving sound textures, evoking soundscapes that oscillate between minimalism and ambient. The recordings, although from a bygone era, appear incredibly current and demonstrate how the electronic experiments of the 90s are still a source of inspiration and comparison for contemporary music today. The tension between the ancient and the modern, between the sacredness of space and the modernity of sounds, offers a unique listening experience that manages to transcend time and space, placing apparently distant worlds in dialogue. The performance of Sun Electric is not only a sonic journey but a true electronic ritual, capable of reawakening a musical sensitivity that has its roots in tradition, while maintaining an eye on the future. The atmosphere of the Votivkirche further contributes to intensifying the experience, adding a mystical component that is reflected in the low and enveloping frequencies, as well as in the empty spaces left by the music, which themselves become an integral part of the composition. Each sound seems to reverberate on the walls of the church, amplifying the sense of depth and spatiality, almost as if they want to challenge the physical boundaries of their space. In this sense, space is not limited to a mere recollection but becomes a sound laboratory, in which technology is used to expand the expressive possibilities and create a bridge between generations of musicians and listeners.

 

Max Loderbauer, Tom Thiel – Sun Electric Live at Votivkirche Wien