Search - Brainticket :: Alchemic Universe

Who thought Brainticket would return?

BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 09/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Brainticket was always referred to as "Krautrock" despite they weren't German, but a multi-national group consisting of Belgian-born Joel Vandroogenbroeck and whoever he can find at the time. After 1973's Celestial Ocean, the band remained quiet until 1980. Since the late '70s, Joel also released a ton of music library albums under his name, with different themes, ranging from meditation, to inspiration by H.R. Giger. While he started up his music library albums, he resurrected Brainticket, as an all-instrumental outfit, and releasing two albums, Adventure (1980) and Voyage (1982), which despite the fact these were early '80s releases, sound so '70s, I thought they were mid '70s recordings, but they weren't.



Come the year 2000 and Joel Vandroogenbroeck teamed up with old partner (from the Celestial Ocean-era) Carole Muriel, with the addition of Lance Banda and released Alchemic Universe. How does this compare to the old Brainticket? Well it don't. For one thing, there's techno influence in many of the pieces, complete with electronic percussion. Of course, stay away if you're techno-phobic. I usually don't go for techno myself, but I am never bothered by Ozric Tentacles foray in techno, and same goes for Brainticket. It's because there are tons of creative twists and turns throughout this CD. It's techno that isn't exactly dance floor friendly. For one thing, just as the beat starts, it abruptly stops and also an abrupt change in the music, it's like prog rock meets techno here. That means no emphasis on BPM (beats per minute). The music shifts from techno to experimental to ambient, with some spoken dialog from Carole Muriel that unsurprisingly reminds you of Celestial Ocean. The synthesizers tend to be digital and maybe some analog modeling synths too. I can see Alchemic Universe will not be everyone's cup of tea. The techno influence might put many listeners off. Some might wish they brought in Barney Palm for some real drums and percussion. But then I don't expect the group repeating Cottonwoodhill, Psychonaut, or Celestial Ocean, and I never expected them to do that, and in 2000 it would be ridiculous to expect that. This CD has a much more modern feel, but does not have a sterile feel, which is a big plus for me. So I'd recommend this to those who don't mind a combination of electronic, ambient, and techno done in a creative and experimental way."

Brainticket - 'Alchemic Universe' (Hologram/Funfundvierzig)

Mike Reed | USA | 02/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Decent comeback CD for Brainticket.Originally released on the U.S.label Hologram in 2000,then a few years there after reissued by Funfundvierzig,a German label.This is only the krautrock band's sixth opus since '71's 'Cottonwood Hill'(see my review).A bit more 'new age-like' than what I had maybe expected,but only on a couple of tunes,like "Life's Mirror","Transformation Of A Stream" and "A Dreamer's Reflection".'Alchemic Universe' reunites two of Brainticket's key players,Joel Vandroogenbroeck-organ&fute and Carole Muriel-vocals.The pair had worked with lyricist Lance Bunda to create this,what SOME fans just might consider to be somewhat of a virtual follow-up to their '73 masterpiece 'Celestial Ocean'(see my review).The two really show their true spirit on tracks like the cosmic "Within Venus" and the ten-minute title cut "Alchemic Universe",the trippy "Relics 'N Roll" and twleve-minute "The Subspace Between"(good,weird sounds intact).Might appeal to fans of Lightwave,Spacecraft&Tony Gerber,later Tangerine Dream and possibly Embryo.A should-have."