Adelbert Von Deyen

"Electronic musician Adelbert von Deyen’s debut and sophomore album were released just a year apart from each other. “Sternzeit” was followed by “Nordborg”, which featured only one track on each side. Again, von Deyen took his time crafting a meditative maelstrom of ambient sounds. The B-side, “Iceland”, is actually an acoustic interpretation of a snowstorm in Nordborg, Denmark, as remembered by von Deyen. 

Von Deyens debut album “Sternzeit” had caused quite a stir in 1978 in his home town of Lübeck, where the unconventional young artist found himself inundated with fan mail and booked for autograph sessions. His contract with Sky Records obliged him to deliver a set number of albums to the label—one per year. Enjoying financial independence, he was able to give up his job and focus exclusively on his music. 

“Nordborg” appeared in 1979 and featured just two tracks, one on each side. It was inspired by a short holiday in Nordborg on the Danish island of Alsen, which coincided with a violent blizzard. “Moonrise”, the A-side title, is a slow motion improvisation on the rising of the moon on Nordborg. Opening with synths evocative of seagull cries, meditative soundscapes mesh together massive lead sounds in unhurried harmony. Winds swirl, synths twist into electronic spheres of sound, drifting without any clear dramatic structure. Immersed in introspection, Adelbert von Deyen celebrates life in the moment. 

“Iceland”, the B-side piece, depicts the snowstorm. Perfect for Adelbert von Deyen’s artistic expression: sustained organ tones deliver beat frequencies, an electric piano pattern is lost in reverie, winds build through the ARP Odyssey, finally sinking into icy melancholy and detached organ tones. Towards the end we are reconciled by an almost sacral organ part which Adelbert von Deyen brings full circle as he returns to the opening theme. 

Adelbert von Deyen recorded the second album, like the first, on a Revox A77 tape machine in his little home studio. The instrument list echoes that of “Sternzeit”, with an ARP Odyssey performance synthesizer, a Farfisa VIP 233 organ, a Farfisa String-Orchestra, Hohner Clavinet D6 electric piano, rhythm computer and an electric guitar.”