WARMER MIXTAPES #1440 | by Günter Schlienz [Guenter Schlienz] of K-Gruppe & navel

1. My Bloody Valentine | To Here Knows When
Sometimes, in my experience this happens very rarely, you hear some new sounds and you think that you knew this already, you have a feeling that you are born with this, like if the knowledge of those vibrations are encoded somewhere in your DNA. Someday in the early 90s a friend of mine gave me a mixtape. Don't know now what else was recorded onto this tape, but I clearly remember that this song was last one on the first side. And I clearly remember my reaction while listening to it for the first time, happened in my car while driving home from this friend's place. Goosebumps, confusion, open mouth, strange feeling that I already heard these sounds in a dream, or in another life.

2. Spacemen 3 | How Does It Feel?
There had been times in my life when I listened to these guys exclusively. Their first row of singles just blew my mind, couldn't get enough of their first proper album called The Perfect Prescription, so expectations had been high as the following one was announced to be released. Was not disappointed, because on Playing With Fire every detail is just perfect. This album is a wonderful mixture of songs received from Heaven and from Hell respectively, and at the centre of the first side, in between a lush lullaby and a guitar attack righteously called Revolution, this piece just have found its perfect place. Peaceful in the beginning, it gets more and more uncomfortable, though it never leaves his stoned-hippy-at-the-shore vibe. Still wondering what some are able to do with just two guitars, a two note bass line and a snare drum. With lots of Silence in between the spoken words. Miracle!

3. The Velvet Underground | Heroin
Noise? Even worse, awful noise? I was stunned. How could he listen to this wonderful wall of Sound and label it this way? As I played this track to a School buddy proud of my new discovery I expected reactions like I had shown, something like oh, so beautiful, outstanding, want to listen to this forever. Learned two things this very moment: first, the perception of Sounds could differ, second, had to find a new buddy.

4. Bob Dylan | The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
My very first lecture in Minimalism. As a very young teenager I started to learn to play the Acoustic guitar just because of this guy and his first couple of Folk ballad albums. On one of those this songs is to hear, and I knew immediately this is something very special. Lyrics that hit your heart, not with rhymes, just with facts. And this guitar playing, lone and dry like my teenage heart. I've learned quite fast that this is just one chord picked over and over in the same style. So why we need a second one? Never forgot this lecture.

5. Klaus Schulze | Bayreuth Return
This track got me into synthesizers. Grown up in the 80s, I've got the impression those machines are just made to produce squeaking leads for horrible Rock songs. But one day this roommate of mine introduced me first to Frank Zappa and then to this weird German guy. Never got into the first one's Music, but after listening to Schulze I knew I had to dig deeper. Got it, these machines are made to create some unheard aural landscapes. Walk through them and you will learn lots about yourself and the Power of Music. Escapism to teach you how to stand rigid onto both feet in every day life. Thank you, my friend!

6. Klaus Schulze | Totem
In my list this guy has to be mentioned twice. Totem is just a wonderful example of how Synthesizer Music should be. Sounds formerly unknown to this World to make you feel at home.

7. Tangerine Dream | Rubycon (Part 1)
Infected with my new love for Synth Music, I bought a worn out vinyl copy of this album for a few cents. Very same day I got a pair of used speakers from a friend as a gift. So I listened to those three new items for the first time late in the evening with quite heavy volume, sundown was shimmering through my window. I was moved to tears. So keep in mind, best moments in Life afford no money.

8. Harmonia | Sehr Kosmisch
Love the story of how I was introduced to this weird German Music: Me and a friend was playing at a festival in the nice town of Brest, France. We chatted backstage very nicely with an English guy who was there to present his Electronic Music. After hearing our set he was stunned to learn that we don't know Cluster or Harmonia. He advised us to buy the second album of Cluster and the first one of Harmonia. So we did, and immediately understood his bewilderment. It was like our Music, some of our tracks sounded like we poorly ripped Roedelius and Moebius off. Even the equipment was similar, those scientific tube sine generators, the tape delay. So I'm still wondering if the English guy believed in our innocence, and I'm still wondering about the fact that an English guy introduced us on French ground to the best parts of our German roots. Anyway, have to say thank you to the Englishman. You gave me hours and hours of inspiring times listening to this Music.

9. Flying Saucer Attack | In The Light Of Time
Dave Pearce taught me one very important fact through his work as FSA. Inspiration is the one and only thing that matters if you want to be creative. Sounds trivial, but everybody who spent such long and boring times with people who tell you what kind of equipment you need to be really great and cool, like I did, will understand my emphasize of this statement. This track is just Dave, his guitar, few pedals and a four track cassette recorder. And for me it is some lightyears ahead of every monster truck and aeroplane equipped band spending years in million dollars studios. This track's warmth and intimacy is created with such great talent. Unforgettable and unbeatable.

10. Stars Of The Lid | Music For The Film "Jétable"
+(Porch)+... Could not decide which side of this vinyl EP to chose for this list. Actually I've listened to the first side more often, was regularly played for years as my lullaby, last track for the day. Guess I would do this to this very day, as I still love this track, but had to quit this ceremony after my vinyl copy was worn out and looped itself around the track's 10th minute. But the second side is as good as the first. It's a live recording of this wonderful Texan duo, and there's something enormous going on. In between all those ingeniously designed drones and harmonies there's a scream in the audience clearly audible around the 13th minute. This scream sums up the Magic of everything what Ambient Music is about, at least in my opinion. Background Music, if you like to enhance the boredom of everyday life, but furthermore it is Escapism Music to expose Your Inner Self to the most Divine spectacle after the sky's color play at sundown. So beautiful that one has to scream, at least once in a while.

+11. Emeralds | Magic
These kids made me believe in the Power of Music again. After nearly ten years of desperately looking out for Contemporary stuff worth listening, I miraculously discovered theirs by mistake. They made a rope to escape my despair by wittingly knotting together drones and textures with nearly unbearable beauty. Listening to this for the first time with a broken player in the car, wasn't able to turn down the volume of the device, so this track roared at me in its purest beauty. A truly Life changing experience.