To reach the stars and beyond, to travel into infinite space alone in the cosmos…
MKM’s Ad Astra Per Aspera is a wonderful mixture of Cosmonaut rock and German terrorist blues. It creates beauty but also, like a black hole, swallows planets whole.
“Terry” is a noise-laden cosmic freakout over a kind of motorik beat that makes it hang together but somehow transcends it into an air of melancholy within its groove. “Retorn Al Planeta Imaginari” is all shimmering atmospheres akin at times to Klaus Schulze‘s early ’70s output mixed with No Pussyfooting Fripp & Eno ambiences, emitting snake-like guitar drone sounds over light as air synths in a beautiful way. At points it also reminded me of Heldon and Emeralds’ early work, which is no bad thing; with a light show live it could also transform into Tim Blake meets the Ozric Tentacles. This is the perfect accompaniment to reading a battered old sci-fi novel — stunning.“Perspective III (Baader-Meinhof Blues)” has a shuddering bass synth sequence that stammers underneath wild electric guitar, reminding one more of a theme for some futuristic Blade Runner-style replicants rather than 1970s Berlin. The rhythm pushes relentlessly and sounds swirl over the top, making everything seem urgent as the guitar wails atonally; it reminded me in some ways of Seesselberg’s Synthetik 1 album at points. “Aci Tornen Els Herois Calents” is full of steady rhythms in a similar vein to Kraftwerk-style ’70s travelling music as the drum machine keeps the track rolling. Again, Frippatronic-sounding guitar leads the way melody-wise, but it is a trans-Europe express into the heart of the sun as the track ends with a crash.
“El Triangle De L’Estiu” starts off sedate, with moody piano, some beautiful keyboard atmospherics and a mournful guitar. Here we are beginning to step on late ’70s Tangerine Dream in its overall feel, with a splash of Vangelis for good measure. The guitar rhythm underneath is almost David Gilmore-like and takes the track into a wonderfully cosmic, dream-like state. Again, I can imagine this sounding wonderful live. This is the kind of music that should have been played to images of Yuri Gargarin’s first voyage into space. Synth pads add atmospherics underneath and send the track into the land of bliss. As the track continues, more elements take over — the guitar now begins to pick up more and the sequencer rhythms drop away slightly. The track then becomes lush, with atmospheres like a dust cloud surrounding a distant star as it hangs beautifully illuminated in cosmic nothingness, like some of the best of Astropilot’s work. Vocal synthesizers call out from the void like an angelic heavenly choir. When the track finally fades, it leaves one alone, drifting in the nether regions of the beautiful beyond and feels symphonic, like scenes from 2001 A Space Odyssey.Listening to the album kind of leaves you breathless. Yes, it’s slightly Berlin School at parts, but there is certainly nothing wrong with that in my opinion. It is massive and sprawling, like some ancient supernova — but it somehow transports you elsewhere, and that’s no bad thing.
-Gary Parsons-
