E2-E4 - Manuel Gottsching (1984)

ideated from: the oddest stuff I could find from a random album list generator

I wasn’t quite ready for this. I didn’t know anything about it, and I didn’t recognize the name Manuel Gottsching. It started as what sounded to me like generic house music, but then it just kept building and building, becoming more and more interesting. Then, halfway through, there’s guitar all of a sudden. It just underscored that I was listening to something special.

As it turns out Gottsching usually recorded under the name Ash Ra Tempel, a Kosmische / space rock band that I know a bit. This record is a live improvisation done in a single take, where he layers synths and drum machines (and guitar for the second half) in intricate rhythms. I’m not a giant fan of trance and house music, but it can be really compelling when done well. And this is done very well.

Both the artwork and the song titles are chess-themed, I assume because we get kind of the same layer-by-layer, step-by-step building of that goes into a game of chess. Very clever.

Tracks I Liked

I mean, it’s just one solid piece, but worth sticking around until that fabulously inventive guitar comes in from Damen-Eleganza aka Queen A Pawn