FILMMUSIK VOL. III & IV

Irmin's next soundtrack collection of 1983 came as a double LP, accordingly numbered 3 & 4. Jaki LIebezeit and Michael Karoli of Can are again present as well as this time temporary Can and ex-Traffic percussionist Rebop Kwaku Bah, along with further long standing collaborators of Irmin, namely Manfred Schoof and Gerd Dudek. Famous Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu has a guest appearance.

This album is similarly eclectic and top quality as the previous Filmmusik 2. As an additional bonus we have vocals on some tracks, mostly done by Irmin himself, who is clearly not a singer, however he has a mysterious deep voice that works pretty well when used in the right places (which he does). In fact I love these songs (You Make Me Nervous, Mary In A Coma, Moerderlied) a lot. For all its quality, Schmidt's instrumental music can be quite abstract, experimental, and up in the air, and the tricky but memorable singing melodies (and particularly the whistled one in Mary In A Coma) give the listener something to cling to. Mary could almost get away as a single but has some properly confusing instrumental stuff thrown in. Moerderlied is a diabolical murder story delivered as a calm but nervously shivering waltz, and my favourite track. We also hear Jaki Liebezeit speaking in Fuerst von Atlantis.

Most of the remainder in rather experimental, with free jazz and contemporary classical influences, but mostly carried by the phantastic and hypnotic drum and percussion work that not only Can fans will love; once more Can values are generously delivered. An element that Can hadn't used is the wind instruments by Dudek, Schoof, and Ferrara, partly pretty atonal, but still very breathing and lively. And there's more melancholic and dreamy Irmin piano, which gets its highlight on the 14 minutes Aller Tage Abend Walzer together with Ferrara and Dudek on accordion and sax, a fascinating mix of slow lyrical parts, crescendos, and atmospheric interplays using mysterious harmonies.

Once more I say that most of this is very valuable, atmospheric, and fascinating, with maybe the odd inclusion that follows more a film logic than a "listen to it on its own" logic. Some of Schmidt's music here may sound close to some other of his material, but his music is for sure very characteristic, he doesn't sound like anyone else.

The material is, as far as I can see, fully on the Filmmusik Anthology 1, 2 & 3 sampler, which is on bandcamp. 4.2 stars.