Found this one on an old tape, with the exact date on it, excitingly. I remember the situation as a one-off improv session with this drummer named Stefan in his rehearsal space under a Cologne railroad bridge on a nice early summer day (that rehearsal space was - in my memory - at least half open air, so that nice early summer feel was with us while playing). Think he did a very good job keepin' it loosely grooving - that's what the Krautrock-tag stands for, somehow. I played the guitar with nothing but a delay at one point, a wah wah at some other and a very primitive form of circuit bending involved - one of the knobs was humming when touched that day. Of course I made a rhythm of that hum, back then I was very much into making the guitar not sound like a guitar. And while I'm not really presenting myself as a master of keeping a theme or building up tension here, I'm still surprised about some of the sounds.

PLAY LOUD!

Vintage improv series: REHEARSAL SPACE DUET for drums & electric guitar, 06/25/1997

Another improvisation recently rediscovered on an old tape. This one is a live take from an end-of-term concert at the Institute for Musicology, University of Cologne. The idea of that evening was: Students show in small ensembles (in showcases of about 15 minutes each) what they had worked out during the term. Most of them played classical pieces, jazz standards or pop tunes, we did improvised stuff (and made it quite unclear for everyone including ourselves if we had worked out something during the term). The recording features Marco Böhlandt on trumpet and me on electric guitar, radio cassette recorder and delay. Plus a drilling machine, I think (not totally sure if I still used it in that term, but I think I can hear it somewhere at the beginning).

It might sound like one big noise, but it’s actually three different tracks: A long one, then a short one (then the first applause), then a long one again. If my memory serves me right we called the whole thing „Harmonielehre 1 – 3” back then. Don't think I could resist that joke in any term –- Harmonielehre 1 – 4 were lessons mandatory for students of musicology. Now, in retrospect, it becomes pretty clear that these pieces of music should have been named as follows:

0:08 – 8:14:
JUST THE NATURAL NOISE OF THE UNIVERSE aka ARE THE BUILDERS IN THE HOUSE?

9:08 – 10:06:
REIFENGEKREISCH (short spiky version)

10:22 (somehow it started there, no matter if we already were aware or not) – 17:16:
MARCO RUNS THE VOODOO DOWN
 
 
 
Oh, and: PLAY LOUD!

Vintage improv series: BRITCHES BEW, live @ Musiksaal (Universitaet zu Koeln), summer 1997

The Frank Becker Experience played music from late 1996 to early 1997. 

They were:
Marco Böhlandt: trumpet (here), keys (on some other tracks)
Ulrich Knevels: drums
Konrad Feuerstein: guitar, amplifier, feedbacks, effects

This is the earliest one of a handful of improvisations recently found on old tapes. Expect to hear from us.

Vintage improv series: FRANK BECKER EXPERIENCE – SOME TRIPLETS AND A BOTTLE OF THUMBTACKS 10/10/1996

I guess to finish a piece of music I either need a couple of minutes or a couple of years. This one belongs to the former category, in case you were in doubt. While most of my stuff is instrumental, this one is quite the opposite: it’s a cappella – nothing but vocals, straight from the heart. Maybe that’s what nearly made it a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Nearly. It’s quite short, as well. And stereo as hell.

CALYPSO (2002)

The Frank Becker Experience played free improvised music from late 1996 to early 1997.

They were:
Marco Böhlandt: trumpet & keys (lots of them on this track)
Ulrich Knevels: drums
Konrad Feuerstein: guitar, amplifier, feedbacks, effects, drilling machine

Of all the vintage recordings unearthed yet, this has to be our most psychedelic piece. In a uniquely raw-assed Frank Becker way, of course. Play loud & get wild.

Vintage improv series: FRANK BECKER EXPERIENCE – DAYDREAMIN' ON MAIN STREET 11/11/1996

Made this in hospital. Right arm broken, left arm on the computer, high on painkillers, finally time to produce some strange music.

SUMMER SLEAZE (hospital mood piece, july 2015)

The Frank Becker Experience played free improvised music from late 1996 to early 1997.

They were:
Marco Böhlandt: trumpet, keys, bottles (lots of them on this track)
Ulrich Knevels: drums
Konrad Feuerstein: guitar, amplifier, feedbacks, effects, drilling machine

This take is from the same session as most of the others unearthed so far. It shows the FBE at their most fiery-assed, which of course means: in standard mode. Someone’s gotta do the job, u know? Get hip to this kind of trip. 
Please note the adept comments at the end of the recording.

Vintage improv series: FRANK BECKER EXP. – DARK STAR CRASHES incl. DO THE FUNKY CHICKEN (11/11/1996)

The Frank Becker Experience played free improvised music from late 1996 to early 1997.

They were:
Marco Böhlandt: trumpet, keys
Ulrich Knevels: drums
Konrad Feuerstein: guitar, amplifier, feedbacks, effects, drilling machine

This take is the last of the recordings unearthed from 11/11/1996 – the day we had a tape recorder running most of the time. It shows the FBE at their most spaced out, with just enough of a “last dance of the night”-feel in the air. But it’s not us, u know. It’s a higher cosmic kind of melancholy that can’t be argued with. We were there, seeing and experiencing.


Vintage improv series: FRANK BECKER EXPERIENCE – HELIOCENTRIC WORLDS Volume IV (11/11/1996)

DOLOMITI (rough mix, october 2016)

LONESOME COW ON 5TH OF JUNE (rec. 2014, rough mix 2017)

Not sure if it's real, but it certainly appears so. 
(2017_11)

LIFEFORM (rough mix)

Wanted to find out if I'm able to produce a track (that is not improvised noise or improvised anything) from start to finish within a few hours. Old school minimal techno with a few repeated elements and omissions as the only form of variation seemed the style of choice. Not sure if it's any good, maybe some elements are, but I guess it has quite its share of longueurs.

MANIERLICH (test version)

CLOSE ENCOUNTER AT DR. SKINNER’S (Toccata und Fuge in fisisis-Moll)

Old stuff: right here, right now, lots of it. Found it on old tapes and old harddisks.
New stuff: coming in from time to time. It's in the making.
Be sure to listen to my stuff on Mixcloud as well: http://www.mixcloud.com/mixes2go/

KNRD FRSTN

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