1999 CD Virgin 7243 8464542
1999 CD Ultra 1041
1999 CD Ultra 1041
Der Dritte Raum's third album ("Raumgleiter" in German), includes
twelve aggressive techno-trance epics just one step removed from
straighahead trance, the difference being that most trance emphasizes
waves of sound while Der Dritte Raum appears to revel in doing more
with less. "Infrarot" and "Hale Bopp" are highlights, though many of
the tracks sound the same.
Fusing electro, acid and trance, German producer Andreas KrŸger
(a.k.a. Der Dritte Raum) has emerged with an almost universal sound
that's both comfortably familiar and refreshingly unusual. Spaceglider,
KrŸger's second full-length release, is a characterized by spatial
melodies driven by sparse basslines and swift backbeats. The crafting
is careful and precise, but the sensual cyber-textures makes this
attraction worth the price of admission.
Spaceglider, the first major-label release for Andreas Kruger, a.k.a.
Der Dritte Raum (The Third Room), is a quality piece of minimal house
and techno inspired by the infinite dimensions of outer space. Like
space, his Spaceglider LP is a never-ceasing pulse of electronic and
organic rhythms and textures that travel in a wave-like vibration
through the 12 tracks contained on the CD. "Infrarot," the opening
track, is a bouncy, house-like groove with infectious percussion and a
beautiful airy synth line. "Schwerelos" has a true techno appeal,
powerfully sweeping and rhythmic with a subtle acid synth and a steady
bass kick. "Hale Bopp," the first single off the album, is a pulsing
and swirling piece of trance that has been moving some big dance floors
across Europe. Spaceglider contains nine other tracks of hypnotically
alluring electronic music. This is the follow-up album to his Wavebath
CD, released in 1996. At that time, Kruger was fascinated by the
mysterious world under the sea. On Spaceglider Kruger speculates on the
rhythms of space. A thoughtful and enjoyable piece of electronic music,
Spaceglider is recommended for the ears of the "jet set" of the future.
Ungewöhnlicherweise beginnt "Raumgleiter" sofort mit der minimalen
Elektronummer "Infrarot", die mit monotonen Sounds und fast ohne
hörbare Entwicklung in den zweiten Track "Schwerelos"
übergeht. Dieser überzeugt dann mit dem "Dritte Raum Sound",
den die Fans lieben: Schwebende Flächen, eine Medium Bassdrum und
ein schöner Melodienloop, der sich immer weiter aufbaut. Fast alle
zwölf Songs sind nach diesem Muster konzipiert, das soll aber
nicht heißen, daß sie langweilig sind: im Gegenteil. Die
durchgemixte CD ist ein Beispiel an Kreativität (und das nicht nur
in der Namensgebung der Tracks) und perfektem Produktionskönnen.
Ab dem sechsten Track werden die Songs etwas heftiger -- "Lava" ist mit
seinen Acid Anleihen und den spacigen Weltraumsounds auf jeden Fall
einer der gelungensten Tracks des Albums. Die beiden
Singleauskopplungen "Hale Bopp" und "Polarstern" haben zwar nicht den
Drive und Wiedererkennungswert einer "Trommelmaschine", doch
gehören sie zu den melodiösesten des Albums. Andreas
Krüger und Ralf Uhrlandt haben mit "Raumgleiter" ein Album
geschaffen, welches nur bedingt unter den Begriff "Techno" paßt.
Experimentelle Soundgebilde wechseln sich mit bewährten
Songstrukturen ("TagNachtLied") ab, -- vielleicht ist es gerade das,
was den Zuhörer an "Raumgleiter" fasziniert?!
Mark Hartmann, Amazon.de
Tja, schon wieder ein Titel Namens Hale Bopp, der kleine mußte ja
groß rauskommen. Der Dritte Raum siedelt sich musikalisch so in
dem Zwischenraum aus Art Of Noise und Kraftwerk an. Kitschig und mit
einer Freude am sampeln, die stellenweise fast bedrohlich wirkt. Solide
Tracks mit gutem Swing, dezenten Sounds, angenehmen Strukturen und
überhaupt so gepflegt wie möglich, um den vielen Jahren, die
man in einem Raumgleiter so zu verbringen pflegt Rechnung zu tragen.
Angenehme CD mit 12 Tracks, die in ihrer charmanten, klaren poppigen
Naivität überzeugend sind. Die Zukunft in Plastik verpackt,
wie man sie sich vor der biogenetischen Revolution wünschte.
To get the right angle on a review, a Pitchfork reviewer must travel to
the ends of the earth. In this case, the ends of the earth is the Der
Dritte Raum website. And although the site could be viewed in both
english and german, navigating auf deutsch made the experience all the
more cosmopolitan. Here's what I've discovered: Der Dritte Raum ("The
Third Room") is German techno DJ Andreas Krueger with a little help
from "co- piloten" Ralf Uhrlandt, with two full length albums and a
handful of international singles preceding Spaceglider (or,
Raumgleiter, as they call it in Germany). But one spin of this record
reveals all the pertinent info the average Pitchfork reader needs:
Spaceglider is a non- stop affair of squirmy noises played ad nauseum
over uninteresting breaks. The music is continuous, though it hardly
matters. See, the songs on the album not only display no internal
progress, but all sound remarkably identical. Spaceglider flirts with
some of the more exciting things going on in modern squirm and trance,
but those explorations never really pan out. The beats are tired and
thin, and the bass is sparse and automatic. Falling back on Casiotone
flourishes and mechanized Kraftwerk- like pops and twitters makes for
robotic dance music, devoid of any cool cerebral experimentation on top
and lacking the funk on the bottom. The played- out astronaut imagery
merely underlines what the listener already knows-- namely, that
Spaceglider is dated and frail. I suppose the bottom line in a techno
album review is: can I dance to it? Well, yeah, but do you really want
people to see you doing the Robot?
Brent S. Sirota All material is copyright 2001, Pitchforkmedia.com.
Adreas Kruger (aka Der Dritte Raum) creates, what he refers to as,
"electronic listening and dance music." I couldn't have said it better
myself. Through his electronic pulse, Der Dritte Raum is able to
concoct electronica music you can dance too. Throughout this album
there isn't one moment where you'll be feeling like you can't dance,
because Der Dritte Raum keeps the action steady and the flavor flowing
continuously. The one drawback is the fact that the songs tend to sound
similar, and with an average length of over five minutes, once he gets
a groove going, he continues it without change for quite some time.
Although it is true you'll be dancing non stop throughout this album,
the fact remains that it gets very repetitious at times, often dull,
and loses all the creative energy that makes it spark. "Infrarot," the
opening track, for example, continues with the same beat, beat, beat of
the drum machine, throwing in various instrumentation to keep things
lively, and adding more drum and bass sounds as the song progresses,
even popping in with a synthesizer. But, the foundation on which the
song is built never changes, and even with all the mixing up and
additional material he throws in -- which helps keep the songs very
lively and entertaining for three minutes or so -- after its time is
up, the song still continues on. Basically, each song over stays its
welcome. If you listen to each song for the first three minutes though
and then jump to the next one, you might find more joy. The repetition
and lengthy songs are hard to ignore. Though he shakes and stirs up
each song, the contents still manage to sink to the bottom and bring
the song down. If you're looking for a disc to make you dance and you
can look past the fact that it will eventually grow tiresome, then this
might be for you. Otherwise, you might want to think twice. I'll give
it a C-.
Alex Steininger
...SPACEGLIDER remains faithful to [Andreas Kruger's] goal to create
'nonstop music'. Driving but not blasting, this level-headed techno
makes your body move without pulling you under the surface...
Alternative Press (10/99, pp.86,88) - 3 out of 5
Der Dritte Raum, alias Andreas Krüger, sorgt mit Raumgleiter
für den technoiden Überflieger des Frühsommers '99. Ganz
zum Cover passend, das Perry Rhodan persönlich entworfen haben
könnte, startet die CD mit spartanischen Pluckersounds, die sehr
kraftwerkähnlich rüberkommen. Eine Reminiszenz an die
Techno-Überväter. Boing Boom Zack undsoweiter... Nachdem der
Hörer mit in den Standard-House-Orbit eingeschwenkt ist,
zündet der Trance-Nachbrenner. Hier offenbart sich ein Klangkosmos
der Superlative, idealer Soundtrack für die von uns allen geliebte
Space Night auf Bayern 3. Spätestens ab "Lava"
[RealAudio-Hörprobe] tritt Krüger mit seinem Dritten Raum
ordentlich aufs Gaspedal. So sollte Techno klingen. Lichtjahre entfernt
von stupidem "Duff Zack" anderer Produktionen stößt
Krügers Raumschiff in Galaxien vor, die ich zwar schon vorher
gesehen habe, doch noch nicht mit solch einer, ich nenne es mal
Mehrdimensionalität. Es gibt immer wieder Kleinigkeiten zu
entdecken, die diese Platte mit jedem Hören spannender machen. Mit
"TagNachtLied" endet eine Reise durch den Raum, die viel zu kurz war,
deshalb: Repeat-Taste gedrückt, und ab dafür...