Richter Band – Smetana CS
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$13.00
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Transcendental acoustic new-age recordings from late 80’s Czechoslovakia - another gem dug up from the dustiest corners of the internet.
Blooming archival cassette label Infinite Expanse continue to plunge deep into the world of totally unknown, marginal, self-made music with these lost recordings from Prague-based trio Richter Band. Consisting of guitarist Pavel Richter, prolific improviser and multi-instrumentalist Jaroslav Kořán (whose Zahrada tape also reemerged last year) and fidlerophonist Štěpán Pečírka, the group draw influence from the American school of minimalism (Reich / La Monte Young) with the shifting soundscapes of Eno and Fripp. It’s a well trodden path, continuing to remind and reinforce the influence of that 1st wave of ambient / minimalism that seemed to seep into every corner of the globe. Its deep music - gently overlapping rhythms on what sounds like healing bowls (gulp), glimmering zither overtones and swathes of electronic texture, crucially though the group steer well clear of any dated new-age signifiers. There are no misplaced ‘ohm’ chantings, happy clapping, gushing water or stock bird calls. Just musical hypnosis in its purist form. Lithuanian ethno-experimental group Ženklas X feels like a worthy comparison, similar to Polish artists Księżyc or Ossian there can be a sense of underlying mysticism from the music of Eastern Europe, Richter Band feels like a vital node on the map.
Blooming archival cassette label Infinite Expanse continue to plunge deep into the world of totally unknown, marginal, self-made music with these lost recordings from Prague-based trio Richter Band. Consisting of guitarist Pavel Richter, prolific improviser and multi-instrumentalist Jaroslav Kořán (whose Zahrada tape also reemerged last year) and fidlerophonist Štěpán Pečírka, the group draw influence from the American school of minimalism (Reich / La Monte Young) with the shifting soundscapes of Eno and Fripp. It’s a well trodden path, continuing to remind and reinforce the influence of that 1st wave of ambient / minimalism that seemed to seep into every corner of the globe. Its deep music - gently overlapping rhythms on what sounds like healing bowls (gulp), glimmering zither overtones and swathes of electronic texture, crucially though the group steer well clear of any dated new-age signifiers. There are no misplaced ‘ohm’ chantings, happy clapping, gushing water or stock bird calls. Just musical hypnosis in its purist form. Lithuanian ethno-experimental group Ženklas X feels like a worthy comparison, similar to Polish artists Księżyc or Ossian there can be a sense of underlying mysticism from the music of Eastern Europe, Richter Band feels like a vital node on the map.
