Vidna Obmana, Asmus Tietchens

2024 stock. The fashionable term “remix” is often based on a misunderstanding. To re-mix a piece of music means to mix all tracks of a multi-track recording in a new way. Putting the complete piece (the sum of all tracks) through the wringer means “recycling”. Before starting the recycling two questions might arise: “Why recycle this piece?” and “Are the structure and sound of the piece convenient for recycling?” The ability to answer these questions depends more or less on the artist’s perception and focus. An artist calling himself a “recycler” needs at the very least a reliable musical instinct and a sense of respect for the material. This respect permits the recycler to work, play and interact sympathetically with the pre-recorded source material.

Another emotive word is “deconstructivism”. Recycling is not actually related to the deconstruction of music, but instead portrays a respectful approach to the material being recycled. Here the artist or recycler must comprehend and acknowledge the flow of each piece of music being recycled. Of course he is free to alter it beyond all recognition if the spirit of the original piece dictates a certain intensity of recycling. Spiritually it maintains the communication and musical dialogue between two creative human beings, exchanging a bit of soul and supporting each other to move beyond standard expectations and musical principles.

“Motives for Recycling” is the result of the most recent collaboration between acclaimed ambient soundcraftsman Vidna Obmana and highly regarded grandfather of experimental industrial music Asmus Tietchens. On each CD in this two disc set Vidna Obmana took pieces originally created by Asmus Tietchens and recycled them. Using processors, speed variations, volume changes, loops, FM noise and feedback in his studio in Belgium, Vidna Obmana transformed recordings made in from 1975 to 1988 in Germany by Asmus Tietchens into completely new works. An earlier untitled collaboration between the two musicians was released in Italy in 1994 by Musica Maxima Magnetica.