REVIEW: Fred und Luna, Im Klanggarten

Frank Wiedemann, co-founder of Innervisions and the visionary producer involved with leading electronic acts Âme, Howling and Schwarzmann, has started a new record label, Bigamo, to release quality undiscovered music that “wouldn’t fit on the Innervisions label”. The label’s debut offering is Im Klanggarten by Fred und Luna, the moniker of Karlsruhe-based musician, video artist, author and DJ Rainer Buchmüller.

Wiedemann describes Buchmüller – whose debut EP, Glück Auf (Optimo, 2016), went down very well with critics – as a “long-term hero, but for just as long unknown to the public.”

This all stands to change with the release of Im Klanggarten, an intriguing collection of downtempo ambient tracks that blend ‘vintage’ Kraut sounds of the 1970s and 80s with atmospheric swells, curious rhythmic variations and bold compositional gestures.

Whether laying 80s-style synth stabs over a dark and tribal backbeat (“Die Tropfenkarawane”), using cascading, delayed melodies to create lush dreamscapes (“Die Frau Kommt”), or exploring the textures of more dancefloor-ready rhythms (“Du Gefällst Mir”), the album is an expertly-judged example of what Buchmüller dubs “elektrokraut music” and what Wiedemann describes as “electronic listening music”.

With compelling repetitive rhythms through, and an incredible range of both old and new sounds to beguile the ear, Im Klanggarten is a fantastic debut from Fred und Luna and an exceptionally promising start to life for Bigamo Records.

Im Klanggarten is out as a double vinyl through Biagmo Records on Wednesday, March 8th. Have a listen to the album’s first track – the slow-burning “Minisong” – below.

Full album tracklist:

D1 Angeln Ohne Schnur Ist Super
D2 So Gut Wie Nie
D3 Von Vorn