Wunderbar

the bureau b release of wolfgang riechmann's 'wunderbar' unearths an absolute gem of german electronic music. this album, however, is beautiful and tragic in equal measure, as wolfgang riechmann became a victim to a knife attack just three weeks before the lp went on sale and died as a result of his injuries. wolfgang riechmann's career went all the way back to 1969, when he met michael rother (neu!, harmonia) and wolfgang fluhr (kraftwerk), who would be his colleagues in the spirits of sound group. later (1973 to 1976) he played with phonix, before going on to record two albums with streetmark, who enjoyed great popularity at the time. from november 1977 onwards, he devoted his full attention to the 'wunderbar' lp. on his first and, regrettably, last recordings as a solo artist, riechmann went eclectic. distant echoes of the so-called berlin school (tangerine dream, klaus schulze and the like) can be detected on 'wunderbar', as well as the clear influence of the so-called dusseldorf school (neu!, kraftwerk, la dusseldorf). this optimistic music is characterized by simple sequencer and drum patterns, with riechmann adding his own individual layers of harmony. and then there are the melodies: simple, sometimes to the point of being simplistic, but never naive. 'wunderbar' is modern, electronic pop, in a league with kraftwerk and neu! the release comes with rare photographs and liner notes by asmus tietchens, one of the original pioneers of electronic music.