Nachtfalter by Baldruin

CQBL027 | BALDRUIN | NACHFALTER | C30
[Ltd. 100 Moonsilver on Dusk]

Digital files uploaded in May 2020 has been remastered by Nathaniel Ritter.

"Complete enchantment: A feeling of timeless magic, that strange type of shifting, like hiking through the woods as day turns to dusk, protected from the oncoming darkness as the final strands of light enter through the trees; a magical peace. This situated, enclosed feeling is all I could think about while listening to Baldruin’s Nachtfalter (Brave Mysteries). On this tape, Johannes Schebler executes a relentless aesthetic, regardless of the instruments, compositions, or elements."

Nicholas Zettel
foxydigitalis.com
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http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=42219

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"Nachfalter blends dark environment with magical, bright and fascinating life. This contrast makes the album both interesting on a conceptual level and dynamic on the musical side. As it contradict itself in a fantastic dreamy way, it makes the listener set dry bones as the dreaded borders for this journey, and then follow the warm, wild heart to where it desires."

Oren Ben-Yosef, Culture Is Not Your Friend!
cinyf.wordpress.com
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http://cinyf.wordpress.com/reviews/baldruin-nachfalter/

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"A lovely collection of psychedelic folk and post-industrial pieces alike, sole musician Johannes Schebler's dreamy, free-flowing approach to music would appease any fans of Loren Chasse, Glenn Donaldson, or Stephen R. Smith's work. Harmonious guitar loops act as a backing track for percussive violins, chiming bells, and almost inaudible voices; a picturesque effort, bringing forth visions of sunlight through forest canopies and endless meadows. An immensely strong effort from Mr. Schebler, enough to where I've been scouring the internet for more of his music. Get this."

Jon Rosenthal
theinarguable.com
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http://www.theinarguable.com/2012/04/cassette-roundup-i-brave-mysteries.html

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"... Schebler crafts his music to sound like excerpts from a bigger whole, or maybe sketches to something much bigger. The long and dark labirynth of sounds only sometimes provides a glimpse of light or a chance of reference to any other band or project (like the beginning of “Wildwuchs” which brings to mind the quieter, non-rock moments of Amon Düül II), but what prevails on Nachtfalter is the general sense of disorientation. Not in an aggressive, sensory overload way. Baldruin manages to get the listeners lost through the use of subtle sounds, quiet drumming, skeletal drones, cavernous sounds which blend and mix in various proportions, never forming any actual melody or a frame and never expanding into something more pronounced. Nachtfalter sounds like a compilation of Schebler’s ideas, a series of short, brief glimpses into the mind of a tireless experimentalist. It’s almost like a full, finished movie that consists only of teasing, short fragments of interesting, exciting scenes that never really go anywhere, but rather are there to present the bare framework. Baldruin’s cassette is such a bare framework, too."

Jakub Adamek
weedtemple.tumblr.com
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http://weedtemple.net/post/20958915037/review-baldruin-nachtfalter-brave-mysteries-2012

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""Irrweg" begins like a lullaby, an echoing chiming melody, with drones soaring and descending and a few clinks and clanks for atmosphere. It's little more than an introduction but performs its deed perfectly.

"Wildwuchs" jars you initially with sharp flute bleats and discordant zither. Schebler builds around those sounds adding rather pretty reversed samples and subtle lo-end rumble. By the piece's end, it's become a fantastically complex composition in a short span of time. Really great stuff.

"Undine" invites you into a thicket of muted strings, chimes and tambourine. They form a percussive bed of sorts in which Schebler can lay his drones via violin and another instrument I can't quite pinpoint.

On "Hohlraum," Schebler strips away a lot of layers leaving only a couple bowed drones. It's a really nice passage and stands out on a tape full of more ornate arrangements.

"Am Hang" prominently features a chorus of ghouls. The lead ghoul starts speaking in tongues--German, probably, but it's all tongues to me. The words echo and fold over each other against a short chiming loop. Not sure what its saying but it sounds a little creepy by my estimation.

Voices continue into "Sackgasse" with a whistle(?) solo and sporadic clatter. A low-rumble rears its head periodically making the whole affair more unsettling. Looking for a realistic, subtle soundtrack to your nightmares? This may be the one.

On the second side, "Siebente Reise" creates a dense little environment with a series of drones, field recordings, sprinkles of percussion and the repeating thump of a guitar chord.

"Spiegelung" begins with a really lovely melody. Voices join in consonant harmony. Things must be looking up; the beauty is fleeting but powerful. Not only can Schebler creep you out, he can enchant with the best of them.

"Weit draußen" takes you right back into chilly chimes but there seems to be some birds calling and crickets chirping. I can't quite tell if they're field recordings or if Schebler came up with a synthetic way to emulate to said creatures. They don't sound entirely real. A dank, detuned acoustic guitar leads

"Schurfwunde." Seemingly recorded in a dungeon somewhere, a tambourine rattle echoes every so often. Prison blues, period-gothic-style.

"Die Purpurinsel" changes things up a little, it's heavy on the percussive layers and they're actually relaying some fairly grooving rhythms. Schebler fades those gradually into a wonderful composition of synth, chimes and voice pads. It's an almost intoxicating concoction; one my favorite moments on the tape.

The brief finale "Xerocomus" has a little edge to its fidelity. It's rougher; trafficking in (what I think is) reversed/manipulated radio static.

All in all, this is a really cool tape. While Schebler provides suggestions of darkness, the music itself, as far as timbres go, is fairly bright. He generally avoids the more conventional creep-out routes which I appreciate. The tape seems, to me anyway, to be about altering the environment its played in. And it certainly does one hell of a job at that.
The thing comes pro-dubbed, shrink-wrapped, the works--along with Schebler's Silence of the Lambs-ish artwork, what more could you ask for?"

Drew Dahle, Auxiliary Out
auxiliaryout.blogspot.de
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http://auxiliaryout.blogspot.de/2012/06/baldruin-nachtfalter-brave-mysteries.html

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"Вне зависимости от стиля, вся музыка может быть разделена на две категории: "eat me, drink me", то бишь музыка, которая заставляет себя слушать, и "here I am" – музыка, котрой все равно слушают ее или нет, она существует полноценно и без воспринимающего субъекта. Слушая музыку проекта Baldruin, (за которым стоит Johannes Schebler, оформитель релизов замечательного лейбла SicSic Tapes) я осознал, что есть третий тип – музыка, которая целенаправленно говорит тебе "не надо меня слушать", "меня нет". Этот особый тип подобен магическим наваждениям: поддавшись уговорам, вдруг совершенно неожиданно для себя оказываешься где-то далеко.

У чукчей и коряков есть легенды о русалках, которые появляются, если человек, съев мухомор, заблудился в лесу. Пользуясь одурманенным состоянием сознания охотника, они ведут его далеко вглубь леса, тянут на дно болота или затягивают в густые заросли. С альбомом Nachtfalter все не настолько страшно – ненавязчивые, словно растворяющиеся в воздухе мелодии также незаметно для слушателя заводят его в дебри собственного воображения, но не их вина, если там темно. Сама по себе эта музыка добра и настолько расфокусирована, что сложно говорить о каких-либо направленных эмоциях. Русалки играют с тобой, не желая зла. Возможно, это своего рода проверка на чистоту помыслов, эдакий ветерок из звуков, которые уносят листья с поверхности воды, позволяя увидеть, что под ней – грязь или чистый песок.

Используя короткие прото-музыкальные наброски, которые нельзя назвать ни фолком, ни дроном, Johannes создает сложное, запутанное пространство, похожее на лес. В нем есть гулкое эхо и тихие шорохи, загадочные перезвоны и отзвуки чьих-то голосов. Любая попытка сориентироваться в этом лесу похожа на момент, когда пытаешься поймать нечто, находящееся на краю поля зрения, но моментально исчезающее, стоит лишь повернуть голову. Заблудиться в лесу бывает очень полезно, это позволяет испытать силу того, что обычно называют интуицией. Только полагаясь на нее, вы сможете свободно перемещаться в перезвонах этого альбома. Увлекательной вам прогулки!"

Tim Six
http://piedpaper.blogspot.de/
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http://piedpaper.blogspot.de/search/label/baldruin

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Video for "Wildwuchs": http://vimeo.com/33877103
Video for "Hohlraum": http://vimeo.com/37304642

available via http://www.bravemysteries.com/shop.html

instagram.com/johannes_schebler/