Tietchens, Asmus
Biotop
Asmus Tietchens is one of the best known German artists in the field of abstract music. Five of his early works, roughly definable as avant-garde synthesizer pop, are to be reissued progressively by Bureau B. "Biotop" was the first Tietchens release on Sky Records (Cluster, Rother, Roedelius, Moebius, Plank, Riechmann amongst others). Biotop is inhabited by insectoid squeaks, banging percussion and echoes of displaced nursery rhymes. The hectic piece Moderne Arroganz is notable for a voice listing types of insurance; from behind this "unbeatable idiocy" (Guido Sprenger) a critical reflex emerges which can be taken as social commentary-it is no coincidence that Sauberland resounds with squeaky absurdity, taking itself none too seriously. One would not be wrong, therefore, to divine the artist finding himself in the banefully piercing title track, which rejects the alleged harmlessness of the album, a contrary "Im here too", attenuated only by the remark "lets see how things go". But Tietchens half hoping, half sceptical stance-underlined as an endless groove on the initial pressing-proved unfounded.