Sounds of New Soma - Nachdenken über Rolf​-​Ulrich Kaiser

Tonzonen Records ()

SONS keep up their rather hectic release schedule of great, experimental, psychedelic, mostly electronic kosmische ambient krautrock. The cover art of course is a remake of the classic krautrock compilation Sci Fi Party that was released on the the legendary Kosmische Musik label in 1974. Famous German writer and  producer Rolf​-​Ulrich Kaiser was the mastermind behind this and many other projects, hence the title of this release that is apparently very influenced by the original electronic Kraut scene.


This time we've got mostly shorter tracks and there are nine of them. The overall vibe of this album is very relaxed and spacey and also rather quiet and minimal. This is perfect music to put on your headphones, lay down, close your eyes and start dreaming. This is very meditative, instrumental music and the synthesizers and sequencers of Dirk and Alex are at points augmented by jazzy saxophone, guitar, drums etc. by guest musicians. There is also some narration in German on a couple of tracks. The very nice "Luftikus" is closer to the folkier side of of the Krautrock element. The titles like "Kaiser's Kaffee" and "Komische Kuriere" emphasize the effect of the "good old lysergic times" on the band's music. The longest track is "Kinder der Geburtstagspresse" that also has a drum beat. The last, beautiful and dreamy track "Verschollen" is a nice tribute to all the original musicians and inner space astronauts that we have already lost in time and also has some wordless singing. All in all, Nachdenken über Rolf​-​Ulrich Kaiser is a great tribute and homage to the kosmische music of the past as well as a very successful update on the genre. Warmly recommended!

 www.facebook.com/SoundsOfNewSoma