Ulrich Schnauss

Ambient music brought into the limelight can be a limp affair with one or two nondescript DJs on stage quietly going about their business. Thankfully, performed live, German Ulrich Schnauss’ sound had all the bombast of some of the great electronic acts, evoking the likes of Vangelis, Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre minus the cheese and, joyously, the pounding stadium rock of nineties-era Depeche Mode. Maintaining some underground credibility with glitchy forays into drum ‘n’ bass and trance proved all well and good, though it was obvious from the instrumental synth-pop crowd-pleasers laid over an hypnotic A/V display where Schnauss’ heart lay.

Green Door Store, 19 June 2013

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