This generous length triple CD set is a collection of tracks culled from rehearsal sessions in 1978 by Manuel Gottsching, Lutz Ulbrich and Harald Grosskopf in preparation for the 'Correlations' album. With this in mind I was to put it mildly highly surprised by the opening (forty six minute) track 'Paradise Express' which was a crazed mesh of pounding drums, guitar and electronics much more in the style of Ash Ra Tempel from five to six years earlier or even Cosmic Jokers. The drumming was so intense Harald's arms must have been ready to fall off at the end of such a marathon.
So its very powerful and if you are into that sort of thing extremely exciting and above all manic but nothing remotely like what appeared on 'Correlations'. For some of you that will be a good thing, for others not so good. 'After the Flood' and 'Steamer' are a little more restrained but still very much 'Tempel' rather than the slicker more 'electronic' Ashra sound of that period. I particularly enjoyed the latter as it had an excellent spaced out psychedelic feel to it though like the first track it did get rather OTT by the end. Onto the second disc. 'Promotion' does have a more recognisable Ashra sound especially in the guitar department- there are some really nice licks and the drumming is altogether more restrained.
'Tempus Fungi' again has lovely guitar work and some sort of sequence (or probably looped guitar) that pleased the retro side of me. Its an excellent track. 'Donna Wetter' starts with another fantastic sequence. This is great driving stuff that changes at just the right times to heighten the excitement further. The guitar playing is (from both Manuel and Lutz I think) excellent, the different lines weaving around and taking over from each other superbly. There is amazing power here without axing it and its all placed at just the right place in the mix- wonderful wonderful stuff- the best track so far. We finish the second disc with the short 'D' Accord', a whimsical interlude for acoustic (?) / electric guitar and effects which wouldn't have been out of place on 'Starring Rosi'.
The final disc begins with 'A Scottish Flavour'. The electronics maybe do have a slightly bagpipe feel to them and I suppose the drumming could also be thought of as being a little military but I probably wouldn't have thought of Scotland without the title. Maybe it could just be as much to do with some whisky they were drinking at the time. 'Pas De Trois' is another very long track at almost forty minutes and sounds much more what I would expect from a 'Correlations' rehearsal. The guitar playing is laid back but effective. The drumming is tight and somewhat restrained. Things do threaten to become wilder from time to time but then keep coming back to a satisfying groove. 'No Angel no Cry' initially starts with gentle strummed guitar. Electronic backing very slowly begins to appear and forms a lovely base over which guitar chords float of into the ether. Its another beautiful track. Harald sets up a firm beat on 'Ice Train' over which duel guitars both add to the rhythm as well as let rip. This is much more in control however than for instance on the first CD. As with 'No Angel....', 'The Formula' begins with strummed guitar, continuing in pleasant fashion until the finish.
Considering that this was all recorded in 1978 and hasn't had any tarting up the sound quality isn't bad but the overall fell is very raw- no clever production etc. Hard-core Ashra fans would buy this never mind what it sounded like just because of the historical significance (and to keep the collection complete of course) and if you enjoyed 'The Private Tapes' you should certainly check this out, there are some excellent tracks here but if you are new to Ashra start with 'New Age of Earth'.
David Law, Synth Music Direct, 2002
Buy 'The Making Of' at:
www.synthmusicdirect.comAshra - The Making Of
'The Making Of' is the audible story behind the scenes of one of the world-famous albums: 'Correlations'.
Read the following objective words from Manuel Gottsching, Lutz Ulbrich and Harald Grosskopf plus a review from connoisseur David Law to get a sense of this historical recordings:
The making of "Correlations" is (in a way) also the story of the creation of "ASHRA".
After the release of my second solo album "New Age Of Earth" in France in 1976, which was still published under the old name "ASH RA TEMPEL", I made a new worldwide contract with Virgin Records London in the spring of 1977. To merk this as o new beginning, I decided to shorten the old name to "ASHRA".
In order to promote the worldwide release of "New Age Of Earth" and to present the new "ASHRA", I was asked to give a concert in London. This brought to mind my old friend Lutz Ulbrich from the good old days of the "Berlin-school" and his band Agitation Free. We had played many concerts together in 1974/75 under the banner of Ash Ra Tempel. I also remembered Harald Grosskopf well from the mysterious days of the Tarot and Cosmic Couriers sessions in 72/73. Besides, he had performed on the "Starring Rosi' album.
In August 1977 the three of us became the new line-up for the official "ASHRA" debut concert in London's Regents Park Open-air Theatre.
For contractual reasons I had to produce my next album soon thereafter. Out of necessity, this was another solo-album called "Blockouts" produced in September 77. But for the concert tour of "ASHRA" in the autumn of 1977, we performed again as a trio, and there was no question that we would record the next album together in early 1979.
We find a beautiful place for the rehearsals within the deserted and devastated territory of the old Ufa film studios in Berlin. l had prepared only a few basic musical themes before we set up all of out equipment in one of the big rooms. For the next three weeks we locked the doors and jammed.
I recorded most of the sessions with my old Revox A77 in mono for the purpose of reworking the compositions later on. But despite of the "garage-like" sound these tapes reflect much of the energy and the sheer "lust for playing" that possessed us in May of 1978. I must apologize for any background noise or passable distortion, but I wanted to keep the narrative character of the recordings rather than to edit the music or to make cuts due to technical concerns.
Despite the fun we all had, the making of "Correlations" was actually hard work - it took another year from the first sessions until the release of the album in 1979.
When Steve Baltes finally joined the old trio of "ASHRA" in 1997 for a tour to Japan, we immediately made him out fourth member. He had already mixed our Japan tapes for the CD release, und it was obvious that he was the one for mastering out old "trio" recordings for now, therewith completing the making of "The Making Of".
Manuel Gottsching, September 2001
Making 'Correlations' was a very special experience. The last three Ash Ra Tempel records had been solo projects of Manuel Gottsching and Manuel, Harald and me felt that it was time to produce the next record in teamwork. We had become a trio when Harald Grosskopf joined the band 1977 and done a lot of concerts since. We decided to develop the music by improvising during a three weeks session, because this had worked out best in the past. The problem was how to find the right place for it. But as always, when you are an the right track, doors open unexpectedly. At the time Tangerine Dream had rented a fantastic location for their rehearsals: the old UFA film studios, and they allowed us to use this space as well. The whole area was still abandoned and nobody was working there. Rotting buildings showed glimpses of former splendor and one could still smell the historical background. It felt like a ghost town. With its magical atmosphere, this was the ideal place to feel inspired!
We set up our equipment including the revox machine and one (!) microphone, put it in the middle of the room and began recording. We were jamming night and day and as nobody else was present, it became our own planet so to speak. One night we got so carried away, that we forgot to close the door before we left.
Fortunately nothing got stolen... (Sorry Christoph!)
The mood during the sessions was very intense. When listening to the tapes last year for the first time since 1978, we all liked the powerful creativity und thought, it would be a good idea to share this with our fans. The album "Making of Correlations" allows you to take a close look into the process of composing what later became "Correlations".
Lutz Ulbrich, April 2001
It was my first year in Berlin. For the production of 'Correlation', that was suppose to be made in summer 1978, we were looking for rooms to be able to prepare ourselves undisturbed for this event. By accident we discovered the old former UFA-Film-Studios in Berlin-Tempelhof. I still remember that old morbid ground, where a few years’ later people moved in to demonstrate for an alternative life style.
Walking along there caused mixed feelings for me. Exactly at this point only 50 years ago, numerous films were produced under the most intolerant eyes of the Nazis secretary of promotion and culture Joseph Goebbels.
It’s hard to believe. Most of these rotten buildings looked more like shacks, unspectacularly small in small. Above all, they were not glamorous at all. Here all the stars like Heinz Ruhmann, Hans Moser, Zarah Leander, Hans Albers and lots of other big UFA-Stars must have walked around and got involved in many films that helped the Nazis to erase the terror of war out of peoples mind. The whole scene seemed to me very bourgeois and appropriate for such small minded times. Our rehearsal room was perhaps some sort of reception hall. It had lots of glass, penetrated by big round rising stairs. Perhaps the notorious fuehrer had stood exactly here on this ground during film premier parties, eating his vegetarian snacks, making small talk with the Nazi leaders here, with their stars and starlets?
During break times my curiosity again and again pushed me into neighbouring rooms of that bright, relatively huge building. Most doors were broken. Under tumbled racks lay open film boxes and other relics of wars end and the chaos.
We set up our then quite sparse equipment in that foyer and had, even in this dark historical environment a lot of fun. I hope our music had some cleansing effect on these grounds.
For our needs, so as to have musical and technical control, to be able to listen to ourselves, we set up a REVOX tape recorder and one dynamic microphone at some distance. The mono recordings of those sessions contain that charm of innocence. That might be due to the fact that we had no intention to publish it ever.
Harald Grosskopf, April 2001
Sonic Curiosity (USA)
This triple CD from 2002 documents the genesis of Ashra's creation of their "Correlations" CD from 1979, and features 211 minutes of material that affords the listener a glimpse into the generation of that music in the form of long jam sessions spanning three weeks back in 1978. This period also saw the band settle into the Gottsching/Ulbrich/Grosskopf line-up.
While the "Correlations" CD itself displays an excruciatingly refined musical style, the music on "The Making of" affords a more intimate take on the evolution of those songs, with grippingly powerful long sets, raw and full of unbridled energy. So tight is their unity, it is quite difficult to believe that these tracks are exploratory voyages into these melodies. The music flows with unparalleled liquidity, exploring sonic turf that would inevitably become a milestone in the history of electronic music.
The guitars crash and wail without the enhancement of looped sequencing, belting out riffs that transcend any garage-quality inherent in these archival tapes. The drums surge and roll with mammoth stamina, forging rhythms that propel the riffs to stratospheric altitudes. There are few electronics, leaving these jam sessions to stand as naked and glorious templates. Falling into a smooth and engaging groove, the music is relentless with fury and glistening with awesome appeal.
Not every track is devoid of electronics or looping guitar, though. A few pieces example this refined aspect of Ashra's performance, including a mind-staggering 39 minute version of "Pas de Trois". Although possessing much of the overall feel and recognizable flair of the songs found on "Correlations", only two of those pieces appear (in mutated form) on "The Making of".
Stripped of post-production gimmickry, this music is a wonderful fusion of Ashra's slick electronic style with the gritty and passionate freeform frenzies found on old Ash Ra Tempel releases.
