IRMIN SCHMIDT

Villa Wunderbar MUTE

8/10

First time on vinyl for krautrock maestro’s rich post-can retrospective

Can co-founder and cult krautrock veteran Irmin Schmidt’s career-spanning anthology of solo and soundtrack work, previously released as a double CD in 2013, is back again in this limited-edition quadruple vinyl format. As a composer, pianist and sonic explorer, Schmidt covers a wide stylistic range. At the softer end are playful avant-chansons like “Le Weekend” and “Time The Dreamkiller”, with their faint echoes of Swiss electro-lounge duo Yello. More adventurous highlights include the richly textured electro-acoustic tapestry “Rapido de Noir”, the trippy dub-infused junk-shop shuffle “Love”, and the agreeably wonky clockwork drum’n’bass twangfest “Fledermenschen”, all of which arguably update Can’s experimental ethos for a post-sampler age. Perhaps inevitably, Schmidt’s film and TV themes lean towards a more conventional illustrative aesthetic, with their reworked Bach motifs, nostalgic Viennese waltz rhythms and jazzy Morricone homages. But there are still some unorthodox beauties here, including sublime Pendereckimeets-portishead pieces like “Es Geht ein Schnitter” or “Lied vom Verschwinden”, the jangling film noir nocturama “Messer Im Kopf”, the mechanised trip-hop shuffle “Zicke Zack” and the artfully deconstructed avant-ska serenade “Morning In Berlin”. Schmidt also includes two bonus remixes of Can soundtrack cuts, “Alice” and “Last Night Sleep”, each unravelled and extended into inessential but agreeably foggy, wistful, autumnal sound paintings.

Extras: 6/10. Clear vinyl.