Kollektion 04: Bureau B Compiled by Richard Fearless

Translator: Gareth Davies .
Death in Vegas founder Richard Fearless compiled the fourth volume of Bureau B's Kollektion series, which gathers tracks from the label's extensive archive of reissues and new recordings by German experimental rock and electronic artists. It's easy to hear the influence of artists like Faust and Cluster in the music of Death in Vegas, which often bridges psychedelic rock with dance music production techniques. Regardless of Fearless' involvement, this is a fantastic collection of music spanning from '70s and '80s Krautrock and post-punk to 21st century groups carrying on their lineage. Bureau B has always done an excellent job at reissuing key titles by pioneers such as Conrad Schnitzler and Roedelius, as well as re-introducing obscure titles from labels like Sky Records into circulation, exposing incredible artists such as Günter Schickert and Riechmann to new audiences. This collection cherry-picks highlights from the across the spectrum, ranging from the motorik rhythms of Thomas Dinger (of Neu! and La Düsseldorf) to the anarchist-leaning lo-fi new wave of the 39 Clocks to more cosmically inclined synthesizer acts such as the underrated You. Best of all is the fact that Moebius + Beerbohm's hypnotic 22-minute tour de force "Doppelschnitt" is included in its entirety. Newer selections by Solyst and Automat (with guest vocalist Lydia Lunch) nicely complement the vintage selections. ~ Paul Simpson