TRAUMWERK 1

A super rarity amongst the world of Berlin school styled progressive electronic, the short-lived TOUCH (stylistically presented as TOuCH) has been all but forgotten in the modern day eclipsed by the resounding popularity of acts such as Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean Michel Jarre and Manuel Göttsching who have been the legendary representatives of a style of electronic experimentation that permeated the 1970s and drifted on to the ensuring decades that followed. There were countless other electronic explorers who dabbled in the koschmische sound effects afforded by the ever increasing sophistication of technological advances that the Munich based TOUCH was merely one example of.

While virtually no info can be found about this obscure act, TOUCH was the duo of Tom Hackl (synthesizers, sequencer, keyboards, flute) and Charly Geisler (drums, percussion, vocals) who together released this sole album TRAUMWERK 1 (German for "Dream Work 1") in 1980 on the Hand-Music label. TOUCH's approach was very much steeped in the fusion of Berlin school progressive electronic and space rock very similar to Klaus Schulze's "Moondawn" or Tangerine Dream's "Stratosfear" and even featured scattered vocals throughout thus making it a unique hybrid of Berlin school electronica, symphonic rock and a smattering of new agy space ambient with a few extra elements.

Steeped in synthesized tones and timbres, Hackl employed the use of the Roland System 1000, MultiMoog, Hohner-Loagan Stringsynthesizer, Roland Digital-sequencer as well as the electric piano and offered a whirlwind variation of performances that were crafted into four lengthy tracks that added up to an album's worth of material of just under 42 minutes. Each track drifts on for over 9 minutes and offers a mix of true kosmische electronica that sputters on and oscillates to infinity while offering respite of more rock based drumming and sadly substandard vocal performances but luckily these are fleeting and only a small ingredient of the greater scheme of things.

This is actually a very interesting album even if not perfectly executed. This duo clearly had a larger than average big picture view on how to craft lofty compositions that drifted on for lengthy periods of time and how to keep things spiced up just enough as to avoid burn out. In that regard TOUCH did its homework well in not only following the prog electro greats that came before but offered a decent production job of the crafty wizardry that such musical endeavors required back in the days of analog sequencing and large rooms filled with electronic equipment to make such musical moments like this possible.

The duo not only generated heady abstract electronic excursions into the unknown but also featured moments of bouncy synth-pop rhythms (such as on "Waterdream") in the vein of Kraftwerk while contrapuntal freakery enshrouded the rhythmic drive. There is even a brief moment of Italo-disco that is accompanied by the trippy space synth wavering around it! While i wouldn't called TOUCH's sole offering to the world a classic of the genre by any means i do have to give it credit for compiling all its influences of electronic music together in a very creative way. Obviously this one was a labor of love never intended to make a dent on any pop charts and displays that DIY ethos that arty acts exuded in the 1980s when commercial pop oriented music had pretty much dominated the markets.

Never to be heard from again, TOUCH disappeared into the ethers leaving only TRAUMWERK 1 as the only trace of its existence but for a single expressive offering to the world of progressive electronic music, i have to say that this one is definitely an interestingly diverse roster of ideas strewn together for an entertaining procession of 42 minutes. In a way you could view this album as a compendium of what the progressive electronic scene of the 1970s had to offer. Heady koschmische escapism mixed with accessible pop grooves and melodies. A nice work for a one off but ultimately not of the calibre that would place it in the top ranks either.

3.5 rounded down