Anexus Quam - 1972 - Beziehungen

Anexus Quam

1972

Beziehungen

01. Trobluhs el E Isch (5:29)
02. Leyenburg 1 (14:05)
03. Dreh Dich Nicht Um (16:20)
04. Leyenburg 2 (3:35)

- Peter Werner / guitar, percussion
- Hans Kämper / Spanish guitar, trombone, panpipes
- Ove Volquartz / tenor & soprano saxophones, flute
- Harald Klemm / electric zither, tabla, bendir, jew's harp, prepared guitar
- Martin Habenicht / bass, double bass

This is certainly not an easy album to listen to, and also not an easy album to review. It is one of the most extreme albums using free-form improvisation; the first album of Annexus Quam had much more structure. The music has its inspired moments and is at times beautiful even, especially in "Leyenburg 1", but one has to be in the right mood (in essence be really stoned) to be able to listen to this album. While "Osmose", their first album (which had one of the most intersting gimmick covers of all time in the vinyl version, by the way) managed to get to the point in the improvisations, the improvisations on "Beziehungen" often seem to lose the thread. 

Annexus Quam underwent a radical change of experimental rock style between the splendid debut album "Osmose" and their sophomore effort "Beziehungen". For this album, the band got rid of a permanent percussive section and focused more decidedly on the free-spirited elaboration of horns and flutes and the enhancement of the avant-garde potential (already present in "Osmose" but handled within a more explicit frame). In this line of work, the band had it clear that they better highlight their talent to create and develop atmospheres as a conjunction of individuals instead of going for a compact collective sound. The album kicks off with 'Trobluhs el E Isch', a track softly relying on partially defined textures that feature vivid dialogues between sax and trombone, with the dual guitar strumming and controlled bass lines preparing a pertinent harmonic foundation, pretty much in the cosmic vein. In fact, this track is related to the quieter aspects of the band's debut album (and I'm not the first one to notice this). The grayish atmosphere delivered in this opener is succeeded by the inscrutable 'Leyenburg 1', a mysterious yet delicious exercise on free jazz-meets-contemporary chamber. Once again, the sax and the trombone indulge in dialogues that set relevant moods for the track's development, but this time the structure is less solid: it is something that goes on deconstructing and reshaping as the interactions go on. Ambiences vary from deceitfully relaxing to exhilarating and back again. The guitar phrases and percussive tricks stand somewhere between the chaotic side of late 70s psychedelia and the musique concrete-friendly trends that were at the time followed by Faust and Cluster. Meanwhile, the contrabass stands on the jazzier side of things, delivering discrete cadences in calculated places. The 16+ minute long 'Dreh Dich Nicht Um' is set on a languid, hypnotic structure of rhythm guitars (one of them Spanish) and bass subtle ornaments that states a tricky hint to jazz atmospheres: the jazz factor is first capitalized by the flute, and then by the sax. Volquartz shines here like he had never done it before on any AQ piece: when his sax is left alone, he knows how to feature even in those instants in which the id is utilized. At one point, chimes and hand percussions emerge to prepare the road for the reappearance of the Spanish guitar, which now plays a series of stylish arpeggios in a contemporary chamber mode. The flute lines are created with a sense of encapsulated energy, while the soft pulsations displayed on the two guitars bring an exotic mood similar to Amon Düül II's ethnic moments or Agitation Free (without the drums, of course). 'Leyenburg 2' retakes the avant-garde determination of 'Leyenburg 2', until we get to the 2'20" mark, which is when the marriage of trombone and bowed contrabass set the foundation for the controlled coda, whose fade-out comes too soon. This is a weird album, indeed, yet its musical excellence in terms of prog krautrock-style is perfectly patent (at least, to my ears). Many AQ connoisseurs reasonably prefer the debut album, but "Beziehungen" is the album that should reveal us the floating side of their music.

AQ's second album, Biziehungen, is the logical continuity of their debut album, even if it has fairly "progressed", although not exactly to my liking. Indeed the balance between Nucleus-like jazz-rock and Tippett-like free jazz (in favour of the first one in their debut) has been reversed. The album cover is a bit misleading as well as the joyous space rock artwork clashes completely with a good deal of the album.

Only four tracks on this baby and after the great opening track Trobluhs, which is reminiscent of their debut album, the album veers into a senseless and way too lengthy (IMHO at least) free improv Leyenburg 1, where the group seems to be doing so, just because it seems like the "thing to do to be considered a serious muso". Although there are lapse where the music does come back to more charted territories, the bulk of it is lost to this writer.

Indeed the second side does start better (with a good intense third of the way into the lengthiest track of the album, it again veers into indulgent free improvs, and even if the track does come back to reality every so often, by coming back to the opening feel, it is simply too much that will eliminate itself from a relatively frequent and infrequent spinning rotation in your deck. This is so, especially given that the last track is the second part of the difficult Leyenburg of the first side, even if in this case, the "thing" is not senseless.

This second album is unfortunately a wasted opportunity to take their music in adventurous territories without becoming obtuse. Not one of the legendary label Ohr's better releases, this album is only for those who are familiar with the more difficult side of their Osmose album.