BIOTOP

A far more coherent album by Tietchens whose vast catalogue can be be very tiring at times. 'Biotop' is driven by electronic percussion first and foremost. Mostly tinny in sound but at least the recording carries tunes unlike most of his output. All Tietchens LP's are instrumental and experimental in nature.

'Biotop' is a very, very cold record. The kind of music you'd expect to hear in Tromso in Norway just as you're about to turn the lights off to go to sleep. There are similarities here with the 'Residents' from the same time period and 'Cluster' in that the recording sounds very electronic and minimal.

I can't listen to 'Biotop' without being reminded of that old 70's and 80's Friday night programme 'It's a Knockout' starring Stuart Hall as he guffawed with his infectious laugh at our European neighbours parading about in ridiculous outfits as musical jingles played in the background.

Tietchen's first four or 5 albums listed in the Archive are all 'reasonably' accessible, after which he goes completely atonal and tuneless. Some of which are actually excellent eg: 'Seuchengebiete II'.

But for the moment I'm happy listening to 'Biotop' with its frigid air and reckless, yet somewhat robotic approach to electronic music. Nice.