Frank Klare - Berlin Sequences
(2000/2002, SynGate CD-R 2002)

Composed, Played and Recorded 2000 by Frank Klare
Cover design by Lothar Lubitz w/graphics [Mushrooms, 1995] by Georg Reiter.

When Synco finished I tried to get into Frank's solo work but it failed to do anything for me. A little while ago however a customer said I should try him again as he had come along way recently. And he was right. This and another of his CDs I purchased were both excellent. The title of the CD says it all really as if you are into the Berlin School you should check it out. We start with the twenty-five minute 'Berlin in the Evening'.

A simple four-note sequence starts proceedings. It comes and goes, each time becoming more complex. Another sequence can be heard low in the mix in the second minute. It builds and builds becoming the more interesting of the two but also combines well with the original sequence as things start to settle down, taking off in the fifth minute with the introduction of a steady rhythm and soon after a playful lead line. A rather satisfying yet quite complex groove is developed. There are some subtle ethereal pads in the background but really the main focus is the sea of pulsations. In the tenth minute another heavier rhythm enters and there is now so much going on it is hard to take it all in.

Three minutes later things calm down a little as we ride on the back of a single sequence. By the sixteenth minute very subtle rhythm again comes in. We hold a very similar pattern for quite some time until with about three minutes to go things become much more rhythmic again taking us virtually to the end. A lovely shimmering sequence and restrained rhythmic loop get 'Berlin at Night' underway. It becomes quite hypnotic. Around the sixth minute the original sequence intensifies and another comes in to join it. It's excellent, mesmerizing stuff. Three minutes later a heavier rhythm is deployed but it doesn't detract from the wonderful sequence which continues well after the rhythm departs, eventually starting on a slow fade only finishing with the end of the track. 'Berlin in the Morning' starts with pads. A lead line comes and goes like the first twinkling rays of the sun as they rise above the horizon. It isn't long however before another sequence / rhythm combination is deployed. It sounds like Klaus Schulze especially in the lead line department but the whole package is fairly reminiscent of the great man. It's the best track on the album, every element complimenting each other perfectly. Sequences make a tentative entrance at the start of 'Berlin at (old) day(s)' but it takes them a minute or so to settle down into a couple of separate layers, bouncing and morphing around each other very nicely. A lovely lead floats over the top whilst the pulsating backing becomes more complex but also exciting. In the fifth minute the pace is quickened still further. Little Schulzian touches similar to 'Drive Inn' are added as is a bass beat. It's another cracking track. 

David Law, Synth Music Direct, June 2003

(c) Frank Klare

Electroambient Space (USA)

Okay, so the title isn’t exactly original, nor is the music. But it does communicate exactly what this disc is all about, and if you are as much of a Berlin school fan as I am, then Berlin Sequences is a must-have. “Berlin in the evening” is a rapid romp, reminding me of recent Ashra live albums and the almost-Ashra album Viermal Drei. The beat and sequencing become completely mesmerizing, as the hypnotic loop and a few bongos run for several minutes unabated. Some may find it runs a bit too long, but I enjoyed it. “Berlin at night” sounds like another Berlin school graduate, Bernd Kistenmacher, and I mean that as a compliment. Light, crystalline sequences and gentle, fast-rolling drums are just like Tangerine Dream’s Poland CD. Again this is heavy-handed on the sequences, so if you go for that sort of stuff you will be in heaven by now, with 45 minutes down and 27 still to go. “Berlin in the morning” has scintillating classic lead lines that beg comparisons to Klaus Schulze and other pioneers of the genre. Even more Schulze-like is “Berlin at (old) day(s),” with a softer, more haunting quality, more strong solo synth sounds, and drums that sound as good as Harald Grosskopf did when he played with KS in the 1970s. This track is perhaps the best, with a shade more variety than the rest. If you are looking for subtlety in your sequencing, this ain’t it. Me, I’m going to play it again and again, and enjoy every bit of it.

Phil Derby, Electroambient Space, 2003

E-MIX (UK)

When an album appears which runs just under 74 minutes - particularly if it's a CD-R - there's a tendency to think that it has been extended as far as possible to fit the disk, regardless of whether the musical content justifies this. Certainly in the case of Frank Klare's new opus of "unreleased private pieces", the tracks are allowed to spread out at great length, with running times of 26, 20, 13 and 14 minutes.

But oddly enough they don't seem to have much to do with the traditional Berlin scene. In a Klaus Schulze composition of the 1970's you'd start with sparse strings and abstract sounds, building up sequences and perhaps drums later on. "Berlin in the Evening" by contrast starts with a sequence, which continues at the same pace throughout, waiting the traditional 6 minutes before being overlaid with electric piano and congas, and much later with some techno drums. It's more reminiscent of Terry Riley's "A Rainbow In Curved Air" or a Steve Reich composition than anything that has come out of the Berlin scene.

"Berlin At Night" also has a smattering of congas over a lighter sequence, and later on some techno drums again, but like the first track, almost nothing in the way of a lead line, which is untypical of Berlin style compositions. By this time the album's at least fulfilling the "sequences" part of its title, since there are almost no harmonies or melodies on show. "Berlin In The Morning" goes some way towards correcting this, with some swirling strings and a filtered lead line, and again the congas and harpsichord-like sequences. And in closing, "Berlin At (Old) Day(s)" has a little more variation, with more key changes, more techno drums, and a set of sequence patterns which make it sometimes reminiscent of Manuel Gottsching's "E2-E4".

Overall then, and unusual album, with only touches of the 1970's Berlin style, a slightly greater element of Klaus Schulze's 1990's work thanks to all the techno drums, but a perhaps unintentional large slice of systems music, which will appeal to those who liked Tangerine Dream's "Love On A Real Train" or the Steve Reich compositions from which it borrowed.

Mark Jenkins, E-MIX, December 2002