Eight Fragments Of An Illusion LP – Trans Blue Vinyl & 10” Transaparent Red Vinyl

Release Date – April 23rd 2021

Cargo Collective Title

London-based producer Ulrich Schnauss and Danish guitarist and producer Jonas Munk have both unfolded
their unique visions of electronic music over the past two decades, and they have been collaborating since the mid-2000s. “Eight
Fragments Of An Illusion” is their first album in over four years, their third overall. The latest effort is ambient and introspective in
nature, but with a kinetic, polyrhythmic energy pushing it forward. There’s a floating quality to Ulrich’s synthesizer washes and Munk’s
guitar patterns, yet the eight tracks are anchored by pulse and compositional direction. The duo brings their individual strengths to the
table, yet the music transcends any of their previous work conceptually. There are echoes of blissed-out new age music and kosmische
from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as traces of shoegaze-era abstraction and leftfield electronica. But ultimately there’s no off-the-rack
category that fits it. It exists in its own rarefied space. Pieced together from sessions spanning the course of three years, mostly in
Ulrich’s London studio – a workspace packed with rare synthesizers and vintage outboard gear – “Eight Fragments Of An Illusion” is a
luxurious listen. Compared to the duos previous two releases there’s more of a focus on texture and slowly evolving patterns, which
naturally reflects the fact that Ulrich has spent a large portion of the last seven years as a full-time member of legendary synth group
Tangerine Dream. Sonically, the tracks have a certain silky and shimmering characteristic, with Ulrich’s mallet-like arpeggios and
glittering analog synthesizer pads merging with Munk’s melodic guitar lines as the most natural thing in the world. Throughout, the
guitar is used both in a rather traditional manner, but often also as a vehicle for sonic exploration, processed into cloudy layers using
outboard effects and software. This might be their most minimalist outing to date, but it still radiates that uplifting widescreen magic that
both artists are known for. “Eight Fragments Of An Illusion” is their most focused collaborative musical statement to date, and arguably
the most rewarding. 1. Asteroid 2467 2. Return To Burlington 3. Solitary Falling 4. Perpetual Motion 5. Narkomfin 6. Faint Lights In The
Distance 7. Along Deserted Streets 8. Polychrome