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Dutch-born but based in Germany, the extremely prolific Namlook is one of the high priests of ambient techno, trance and related music and his own label Fax Records has released some of the definitive albums in new-school ambient. Namlook stands alongside a handful of other names such as The Orb, The KLF, Biosphere and Mixmaster Morris as one of the originators of ambient's resurgence via dance music in the late 80's and early 90's. Intriguingly, he's often favoured the sounds of analogue synthesisers over digital and alongside Oliver Lieb he is reputed to have one of the most extensive collections of classic analogue equipment in Europe. And although he may downplay the linage, like many of his modern-day peers his music has some of its roots in old-school electronica as varied as Brian Eno, Klaus Schulze and Wendy Carlos. But he's no imitator. He's deepened and refined the sound of his predecessors with an injection of fresh ideas from the dance world, coupled with fine musicianship honed from his many years in rock bands. In a 2007 interview with e-music magazine Slices, Namlook actually made a point of distancing his music from the conceptual influence of Eno: "You have to differentiate quite clearly between ambient in a techno sense, and on the other hand Brian Eno, a purely conceptual thing. I only knew of a collaboration between Brian Eno and Cluster [the German band], and him with Roxy Music. I only bought his ambient stuff later. Ambient as Eno defines it...is more or less musical wallpaper. It stays in the background and serves the environment rather than saying something about itself. In my definition of ambient, which has nothing in common with Eno's definition, it's about a journey, intense emotions that need to be transported - environmental music, jazz, ethno - depending on what project I'm working on". The genesis of Fax Although he had long dreamed of making a career from ambient electronica, in Fax's early days he was mainly pursuing a dance floor-oriented direction and releasing 12-inch vinyl singles to a warm reception from sectors of Europe's club scene. But Namlook soon became dismayed at other artists' appropriation of the Frankfurt "hard trance" sound (developed through his genre-defining 4 Voice project). Thankfully his ambient B-sides to these singles - in hindsight a brilliant strategy - were also creating plenty of interest. Within a few years of the label's inception he had set about focusing Fax almost entirely on ambient and downtempo styles. Namlook has released an enormous number of solo and collaborative albums of widely varying quality both under his own name and various other project monikers. Buyers should be aware that many Fax CD albums are very limited pressings of 1000-3000 each and some of them will be difficult to find. Certain key titles get re-issued on CD from time to time, and much of the Fax catalogue is now available through several online download stores. There is also a healthy trade amongst Fax collectors on the internet. So prolific is the label that for true aficionados there is a lifetime's worth of music to explore. While some Fax compilations are also recommended starting points, a number of Namlook's own albums make equally good introductions to the label. The Silence series Silence is the one that started it all, Fax's first album release and one which caught the ear of both seasoned electronic boffins and dance fans looking for a chilled-out tonic after a night among the thumping beats of clubland. Both this album and Silence II are collaborations with close associate Dr Atmo and despite being at times almost new age in their choice of themes (a voice whispers sweet cosmic nothings like "we are all part of the universe") the music itself is outstanding. These beguiling, shimmering, reverberant landscapes are sometimes beatless and sometimes gently beaty with subdued live pads and cymbals. The 20 minute "Garden Of Dreams" is a particular mesmerising blend of slow Mid-Eastern rhythms with sighing and crying electronic chords. Continuing the series is the the Persian-tinged Silence III which features Namlook on his own. Titles like "Mirage" "Into The Desert" and “A Ship On A Sea Of Sand” are just perfect; his sense of place is quite stunning and he understands the visual qualities of ambient sound exceptionally well. His creative range across the Silence series is impressive: from stately progressions of warm, organic-sounding orchestral synthscapes to atonal, purely atmospheric pieces of pure texture. When it comes to sound design Namlook’s attention to detail is faultless, which makes hearing his music on good hi-fi equipment especially rewarding. Dreamfish The surreal, innovative first volume of Dreamfish with collaborator Mixmaster Morris is another genre-defining release, still cited today as a favourite by fans of post-rave ambient. The environmental sound effects are deployed in a quirky way amongst the textured, gently rhythmic landscapes and the music brims with surprises and quiet invention. The jazzy bass notes on "Fishology", for example, move along at a good clip yet are so subtle that the track's calming qualities are never disturbed. The Air series The first two volumes of the Air series are also high-water marks for Namlook. Like the Silence series they show some rich ethnic and neo-classical leanings, and they remain particularly effective examples of how he uses live acoustic instruments in an electronic setting. The delicate, tinkling cymbals and soft tom-tom beats on "Je suis seule et triste ici" from Air I, for instance, are utterly refreshing because Namlook is able to maintain a deep electronic ambient feel while still expanding electronica's instrumental vocabulary. Air II is deeply psychedelic. An eleven-part "trip" subtitled "Traveling Without Moving", it takes it's thematic cue from Frank Herbert's cult sci-fi novel and movie Dune. Herbert's story posited a strange universe dependant on a life-extending, mind-altering spice drug. On Air II Namlook subtly draws on the story's themes to create a beautiful, creepy, intoxicating universe of his own. Again he utilizes acoustic instruments: didgeridoo, sighing woodwinds, flamenco guitar, Mid-Eastern flutes, and swooping vocal textures that rise and fall to striking effect. They're all integrated seamlessly, proving that despite his dancefloor origins he thrives by exploring outside the rigid structures of electronic beats and sequencing. Other collaborations Although as an artist Namlook's focus is far broader than just club-influenced sounds, when he does get into more squelchy or bleepy techy-trance territory the results can be just as stimulating. On the brilliant two-part title track from The Fires Of Ork that thumping 4/4 kick drum is there alright, but somehow Namlook and cohort Gier Jenssen (of Biosphere) have managed to mute it just enough to create a truly "ambient" dance music: thunderous yet shadowy and eerie, built around a voice sample of Rutger Hauer from the film Blade Runner. Also beats-based is the the superb first volume of From Within, one of the pinnacles of ambient techno, marrying Namlook's warm keys and spiraling synth sounds with the sparse bleeps and beats of Canadian techno guru Richie Hawtin. Again, the rhythms don't drive you into the ground but rather lull you into a gentle if uneasy trance, particularly on "Million Miles To Earth" and "Sad Alliance". Namlook since the mid 90's While many aficionados would agree that the early to mid 1990's produced most of Fax's best output, it would be unfair to dismiss some of Namlook's work since then. Highlights include the final volumes in what is probably Namlook's greatest series, the magnificent Silence IV and Silence V. The luminous piano notes and warm orchestral-synth of "The Night Before I Left" from Silence IV might just be the most emotional piece of music Namlook has ever made, an elegy that's at once incredibly sad and jaw-droppingly pretty. From the same album is the extraordinary "Bedouin Love", a dark, swirling epic with thunderous Moroccan drums, a strange spoken Arabic monologue and chilling yet beautiful synthesiser chords. In the same sonic universe as the Silence albums is From Within 3 from 1997, again made with Richie Hawtin but this time quite different from earlier volumes in that series due to its softer, warmer sound. There's feather-soft lead guitar lines, lush strings, jazzy improvising and warm analogue melodies, all held together by subtle, intelligent drum programming. It's a fantastic example of accessible, soulful electronica. In the new century Namlook has continued with a busy release schedule but not with the same impact his music made in the previous decade. Not that there's lack of variety; for hardcore Fax fans there's plenty to explore. Experimental releases like New Organic Life (2002) are scarily unfamiliar, experimental, arguably unlistenable at times. Some outstanding individual melodic tracks appear on otherwise less-then-great albums such as Resonate (2006) and Namlook Le Mar (2009). However, some of his collaborative albums spanning both decades - not listed above - are highly recommended: see Tetsu Inoue and Klaus Schulze. |
