Lost & Found (1998 - 2000)
Listen
1. | Toninas | |
2. | Lomat | |
3. | Sissy | |
4. | Shuttle | |
5. | Ohaya | |
6. | Up At Dawn | |
7. | Echelon | |
8. | Umpa Lumpa | |
9. | Choc Au Lait | |
10. | Afterglow |
Who is Sun Electric?
Sun Electric is to ambient music what The Sex Pistols is to punk music. But since electronic abandoned the pathetic poses of rock music, nobody had to die to make this unique band history. Sun Electric members Tom Thiel and Max Lodenbauer dissolved in other projects, tearing out an insatiable piece of the map of electronic music.
Sun Electric is regarded as innovators of ambient music - or electronic listening music or intellegent dance music - depending on what you prefer of the empty tokens of music journalism. After electronic music exploded in the late eighties/ early nineties, the music seemed more or less to be restricted to forming the heartbeat of homogeneous party crowds. Like The Orbs Dr. Alex Paterson, Loderbauer and Thiel realised the music to be more than that. They allowed the sounds to detach themselves from the action on the dance floor to lead a life by themselves.
During the 1990s, their extensive equipment had to be shipped as cargo to the locations of their live shows. They were adored by the audiences, especially in Japan and the United States. After having released six Albums on Belgium´s outstanding electronic music label at this time R&S/ Apollo, Lodenbauer und Thiel lost interest in their hardware equipment and explored computer based modes of music production. Thiel formed Bus together with (shitkatapult co owner) Daniel Meteo (releasing on ~Scape, Meteosound), he collaborated with Dabrye and did remixes for artists like Apparat, The Orb, Dntel or Masha Qurella. Loderbauer teamed up with Tobias Freund of Sieg über die Sonnes as NSI (on Luciano´s Cadenza Records) and with Chica Paula as Chica and the Folder (on Monika Enterprises). Swiss-Berlin producer, label founder, radio makr, publisher and the orb member Thomas Fehlmann was always more than a friend to Sun Electric, managing, consulting and
publishing the berlin duo.
What about "Lost + Found (1998-2000)"?
Lets look straight into the eyes of the evil of current electronic music scene: Todays techhouse producers does reintroduce song form, the Nurave kids do nothing but combine rave classics with punk songs. The minimal sound turned into a cartoon of what is was originally meant to be. But true connaisseurs of electronic music cannot relate to these adolescent laughs, they want to dive into the ocean of sound. ThatZs why "Lost + Found" is more than an archeological find, its an actual sensation. ItZs the rediscovery of electronic music as an alien experience, as a sonic challange. Thiel and Loderbauer avoid the pathetic narcism of overproduction: the plague in current electronic music production.
September 11th has been regarded as the day electronic music lost its innocence, when the sonic voyage of the nineties ended in a sober awakening. "Lost + Found" was recorded in the last days of summer of electronic music, in the three successive years after Sun Electrics final album was released in 1998. Listening to "Lost + Found", one might feel like visiting jungle: the music creates a complex soundscape, reminding of the noises of weather conditions and the sounds of a multitude of unknown animals.
Process is the seminal notion in Sun Electrics music. While current electronic music triggers the movements of the dancers bodies like aerobics in a Club Meditaranée, the effects of Sun Electrics music on mind and body are complex and open. Sun Electric music does not make you do anything, it rather gives you the opportunity to become part of a process. Development, growth, change are important in this concept: You might know what kind of person tuned into this album, but you surely have no idea who you are after you heard it.
The design follows history: the original designers republic designer michael was doing the wonderful sleeve!!