Far Away Trains Passing By
 | Domino, 2005, Audio CD Customer Rating: 36 reviews Recommend |
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The long-awaited domestic release of Ulrich's dreamy 2001 debut. His 2004 set, "Strangely Isolated Place" was a hit with shoegazer and electronic fans alike, and toured with much fanfare in support of M83. Includes a 6-track bonus EP of non-LP material
Ulrich Schnauss is a German electronic artist who is influenced by forebears like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk — but unlike retro-space artists, he doesn't sound like he just emerged from their dusty studios after being marooned there for 30 years. Instead, his synthesizers bristle with contemporary electro-rhythms, a bit of New Wave romanticism, and melodies you want to last forever. Schnauss has perfected a balance between quiet yearning and joyful heroism in his music, with sweeping major-chord progressions that are triumphal without being ostentatious, expansive without being pompous. For someone who is so rhythm-centered with crackling snares and electro-glitches, it's ultimately the melodies that draw you in, turned on glistening, bell-like timbres and space-organ sustains. Far Away Trains Passing By is actually his first album, released in Europe in 2001, but it's been out of print and is being issued in the United States for the first time. The reissue comes with a bonus CD that includes six pieces pulled from various Schnauss side projects and tracks that didn't make the original album. Far Away Trains Passing By is electronica with a melancholy soul, and it has lost nothing in the intervening years. — John Diliberto
Disc 1Disc 2
- Knuddlemaus
- Between Us and Them
- Passing By
- Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn
- Nobody's Home
- Molfsee
- Sunday Evening in Your Street
- Suddenly the Trees
- Nothing Happens in June
- As If You've Never Been Away
- Crazy For You
- Wherever You Are
Title: Far Away Trains Passing By
Sales Rank: 2674 in Music
Artist: Ulrich Schnauss
Label: Domino, 2005-11-01, Audio CD, 2 Discs
Package Dimensions: 5.55 x 4.97 x 0.54 inches, 0.18 pounds
- I Still Own It - Need I Say More?
- Very decent. Appropriate for practically everything, every application in my life. Cannot live without it.
In a world of mediocrity whereby music produced continually just isn't up to snuff, this album is highly recommended, by yours truly.… More reviews
- Elements of Jean Michel Jarre
- If you enjoy listening to Jarre (especially Equinox and Oxygene), then I highly recommend Far Away Trains Passing By. My favorite track is the "Passing By" which starts off innocently enough but then continually weaves in sonic magic over the length of the song. Now, I'm off to plug-in, close my eyes, and dream of far away places ...… More reviews
- Not very impressed!
- I bought this CD because of all the great reviews. You people need to get out more often! More reviews
- Sighhhhh...
- ...kick back, mellow out and listen to Schnauss. His simplistic compositions offer just the right amount of originality to be enjoyed either with full attention or as backround music. 'Love this guy! More reviews
- Subtly majestic, if a little monotonous.
- Full of wonderfully melancholy and atmospheric textures; lacks the dull synthetic drone of "space music". The cool strings and melodies kind of drift over warm, crunchy beats and basslines. It's the kind of thing you put on while you're working or, yes, driving.
While the music is beautiful, it inevitably draws comparisons to folks who have done… More reviews
