LE BERCEAU DE CRISTAL (OST)

Recorded in 1975, but not officially released until 1993, "Le Berceau De Cristal" is the soundtrack of an obscure experimental French movie directed by Philippe Garrel, featuring VELVET UNDERGROUND's ex-female singer Nico as an actress. Not quite in the psychedelic rock style of the first four classic ASH RA TEMPEL albums, the music is much more electronic and atmospheric, in the vein of early Klaus Schulze's material, with a slight touch of Manuel Göttsching's "Inventions For Electric Guitar". These oneiric, fully instrumental and slowly evolving soundscapes sometimes announce the direction the German pioneer will later take with his future band ASHRA.

This record also marks Göttsching's first collaboration with AGITATION FREE's ex-guitarist Lutz Ulbrich. He will return four years later as a member of ASHRA, with Harald Grosskopf.

Longest passage of the disc, the 14 minutes title track is an exception, as it's a live recorded improvisation. The first half deploys spacey synthetic textures mysterious, but the second half sounds rather strange and spooky. Uneven, and lacking a bit of coherency. The ethereal "L'hiver Doux" is nice and delicate, whereas the ambient and aquatic "Silence Sauvage" features somehow futuristic percussions. Original.

In the vein of "Inventions For Electric Guitar", the trippy repetitive and minimalist "Le Sourire Envol'" and "Deux Enfants Sous La Lune" shape the style Manuel Göttsching with adopt for ASHRA. Then comes one of the most beautiful moment of the album: "Le Songe D'or", slow and contemplative. In this peaceful landscape, the weird tortured "Le Diable Dans La Maison" looks like an intruder. The weakest track of the record. "...Et Les Fantômes Rêvent Aussi" concludes the disc with an ambiance à la Klaus Schulze.

Despite a few odd passages, "Le Berceau De Cristal" is a very cool soundtrack. Driven by synthesizers, the style follows Göttsching's logical evolution in the mid-70's. To better represent the music, this should have been released under his artist name instead of ASH RA TEMPEL's.

A forgotten and spacey little gem, recommended if you enjoy early Klaus Schulze, Manuel Göttsching's "Inventions For Electric Guitar", or even the first ASHRA albums.

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