Camera Obscura (1983-1984)
Several bands with this name exist or have existed. This one is from Germany and the mid-eighties
| category: | ambient / meditative / kraut / progressive | |
| musicians: |
Hans Niederberger: keyboards, drums, drum computer Urs Fuchs: bass, guitar Michael Peters: guitar, frippertronics Matthias Becker: keyboards |
|
| Vinyl |
A small quantity of the original 1984 vinyls are available from Originalton West Please contact Matthias Becker for details |
|
| CDR |
Copies of the original 1994 CD release are available from Burning Shed |
|
In the early eighties, I moved out of Cologne into the countryside and lived with Hans Niederberger and
Urs Fuchs (among others)
in a beautiful half-timbered house which had a basement rehearsal room with a drum set and lots of
keyboards.
In December 1983, Hans and Urs asked me to join them for a recording project called Camera Obscura. We spent a weekend recording several long mostly ambient tracks which also featured drum rhythms played by Hans, and my frippertronics style guitar loops and soloing.
We played this music to our friend Matthias Becker who had a studio and runs the
Originalton West record label.
He liked our recordings so much that he joined us. We used his studio and some of his keyboards
(such as a Fairlight CMI) to create new recordings of our pieces.
Matthias also added a synth loop / Gregorian Chant style piece which blended very nicely with the other sounds.
The result was the Camera Obscura LP which got quite a lot of airplay for a while (in specialized radio shows such as
Winfried Trenkler's "Schwingungen" in Germany, and many campus radio stations in the US) and good sales figures especially in the US, thanks to
Archie Patterson, who liked the music and distributed the LP via Eurock.
Here is a one-page promo sheet describing the three tracks of the LP (300kB PDF).
The band stayed together for a short while and we even had one legendary gig (in a church at midnight!) but it stayed essentially a studio project.
In 1994, Matthias rereleased the recording on CD. It is now available through Burning Shed.
- Hans Niederberger, Urs Fuchs, Michael Peters, Matthias Becker
- Vinyl Cover
Album description by Eurock, 1984:
Not to be confused with the Belgian/French Industrial group of the same name,
the debut LP of Germany's Camera Obscura is one of the most enchanting electronic records of spatial music
I've heard in a long time. Consisting basically of two synthesisers and two guitarists, they set up a soaring
soundscape of ethereal ambiences filled with intertwining waves of electronics and guitar tones.
Comparison with Fripp / Eno and perhaps Vangelis aren't too far off, but Camera Obscura lacks both their
intellectualism and instead creates a more organic, evolving sound that effortlessly combines softness with
heavy dynamics in a breathtaking way. Great stuff, give a listen.
- CD Cover
Album description by Burning Shed, 2006:
During the 1980s, Burning Shed artist Michael Peters worked with experimental German band Camera Obscura.
A subtle fusion of Ambient, Krautrock and Progressive influences,
this CD reissue of the band’s debut album sometimes recalls vintage Fripp/Eno,
early Genesis and the delicate atmospherics of Cluster.
An understated and underrated curio from a very different time.
excerpts from the CD
Die Reise - excerpt 1 (2:00 min, 1.4 MB)
Die Reise - excerpt 2 (1:52 min, 1.3 MB)
A l'Horizon Clervaux - excerpt (1:17 min, 0.9 MB)
composed by Matthias Becker
Alle Zeit der Welt - excerpt (2:00 min, 1.4 MB)
unreleased basement rehearsal versions
Die erste Reise - rehearsal version, unreleased (15:42 min, 15 MB)
a 12-string intro, then guitar looping blended with keyboards, plus drums + guitar solo
Alle Zeit der Welt - rehearsal version, unreleased (23:27 min, 22 MB)
ambient music a bit similar to Sylvian/Czukay, with a trace of early Genesis
non-Camera-Obscura material from this period
Walking thru the streets - (3:18 min, 3.2 MB)
Technically not a Camera Obscura song, this was created by members of Camera Obscura:
Urs Fuchs: composition, drum computer, bass, vocals
Michael Peters: drum computer, guitar
Matthias Becker: treatments
Released 1985 on the 3rd issue of Matthias Becker's Elektronische Musik aus Köln
Ollo's Rückkehr - by Om Buschman (5:12 min, 4.9 MB)
I contributed a guitar loop to this track from Om Buschman's 1st LP, 'Total'
- Hans Niederberger, Michael Peters, Matthias Becker, Urs Fuchs
- The original 1983 Camera Obscura tracks were recorded in the basement studio of our house
