For over twenty years now, Sascha Stadlmeier has stood at the helm of Attenuation Circuit, a wide-ranging avantgarde electronica label based in Augsburg with a gazillion releases in its catalogue and still at the height of its creative powers. And precisely twenty years ago, Stadlmeier debuted as recording artist EMERGE, which is celebrated with a bountiful three-CD set simply called 20. The first compiles obscurities and rarities from throughout his career, which although wildly varying in form, from musique concrète to deep-river diving, mandible chatter, and things that go bump in the night, are nicely strung together like an unruly string of pearls.
The two additional discs are all remixes. Stadlmeier proffered his very first release, the 7″ “Relativity,” to a host of Attenuation Circuit regulars. Side A is covered on one disc, side B on the second. Among the participants we find Gerald Fiebig, NLC, Philippe Petit, RLW, Toni Dimitrov of Élan Vital Recordings, Claus Poulsen of Small Things on Sundays, Wilfried Hanrath, PBK, Anja Kreysing, Doc Wör Mirran and b°tong, among many, many others. And an additional twenty-one remixes are available online only, at emerge.bandcamp.com/album/20-2. So much to choose some, and such diversity, but it is especially pleasing to find that a number of them crawl along the deep, low end of restrained dark ambience. It’s such a good fit.
Stephen Fruitman
Avant Music News 