Jan Schulte: Tropical Drums Of Deutschland Vinyl 2LP

Jan Schulte (Dekmantel, International Feel, Golf Channel) selects thirteen ‘personal favorite’ independent and private press recordings invoking the sounds of the tropics, wholly imagined by German artists. Recorded during a time when white people in Europe heavily fetishized third world sounds (wait... when was that supposed to be exactly?), these tracks reflect Schulte’s “general fascination for music that describes places where the artists have never been. Songs about the jungle or rainforest made by people that know the rainforest only from television and books.” The sounds range from soothing rainsticks and bird sounds, plucked kalimba and zither strokes to full-on African tribal chant, sounding right at home on Music For Dreams, Copenhagen’s finest purveyors of ethno-folk and experimental electronic sounds. Looking at the cover (if we’re doling out extra points for high framability, this is how it’s done), you’d think this would be full of questionably sourced masters and lo-fi vinyl rips, but the sound and production value is immaculate… if you didn’t know any better, you’d think these were contemporary tracks. The highlights: Ralf Nowy’s “Akili Mali,” Rüdiger Oppermann’s rare 7” track “Troubadix In Afrika,” Tonal Art of Percussion’s “Wuhan Wuchang,” Om Buschman's "Prima Kalimba" and Argile’s “Kleine Rosa Wolke.” Side D includes two exclusive edits by Schulte himself under his Wolf Müller guise; the “Hey Tata Gorem” edit is a real standout (the loop has been rattling around my brain since I first heard it) and the “At The Water-Hole” edit winds down the record on a B-more / Sing Sing tip that strangely works. Double vinyl pressing housed in full-color pic sleeve with liner notes, recommended.

• double vinyl pressing
• printed insert w/ extensive liner notes
• music label: Music For Dreams 2017

reviewed by hannibal chew 03/2018