Ulrich Krieger :: 236 Strings (L’ST)

236 Strings is daring in that it is many things—dissonant, edgy, scary and startling set alongside those powerfully developed qualities of purity to produce the carefully cultivated musical landscape we witness here.

One of the most revolutionary recent contributions to cinematic soundscapes

L’ST Records announced a forthcoming album by the accomplished German composer Ulrich Krieger. On December 3, 2021, the label released 236 Strings, a collection of instrumental ambient pieces and electro-acoustic soundscapes that invite the listener into an aural realm of self-exploration and discovery. That description, of course, is very much an accurate gauge as to what to expect. 

236 Strings is a release that scales the immediate environment turning it on its edges with an expansive exploration of the piano in its most eclectic form. Here, Ulrich Krieger has created some of the most daring and dramatic soundscapes; a mass sonic vibrance in its bold and unyielding entirety.  With just five tracks, it’s an expanded journey into many themes, off of which scale dramatic tendencies and present knife edge moments. Perhaps one of the most revolutionary recent contributions to cinematic soundscapes. The liberating fusion of essences that exist throughout 236 Strings go a fair way to simultaneously creating some very dark and sinister edged tracks.

Despite such a blend of unique compositions, however, the music still manages to extract the purity of the piano in many places and in delicate form, so its not just about the more creative and extreme ideas that have been extracted from the instrument. “Nach dem Ende, vor dem Anfang” in itself, has a distinct current that flows with the most crystal-like transparency, making best use of space and when required, filling that space with its sharp ice like crystals that pierce through an Arctic like silence. 236 Strings is daring in that it is many things—dissonant, edgy, scary and startling set alongside those powerfully developed qualities of purity to produce the carefully cultivated musical landscape we witness here.

236 Strings is available on L’ST. [Website]

Remixes ::
L’ST has arranged for two remixes. American techno and electronic musician John Tejada worked on the longest and most immersive song, “Euphotic,” the first track from Krieger’s forthcoming album. Tejada used the original piano sounds, to a large degree, then edited them into looping textures combined with electronic drum programming. The second remix by Pyrolator for the song “Oberfläche (Open Ocean, Marine Desert)” is expected to arrive after the album’s December 3rd release. Both remixes will have music videos created by Berlin design studio Pfadfinderei.