Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss |
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Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is an electronic musician and producer based in Germany.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of Kiel in 1977. He became interested in a range of music: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Tangerine Dream, Chapterhouse, and early bleep & breakbeat tracks. There was not much opportunity to see his musical influences in Kiel, so he moved to Berlin in 1996.
Ulrich's musical output began under the pseudonyms of View to the Future and Ethereal 77. These electronica and drum-driven pieces were noticed by Berlin electronica label CCO (City Centre Offices), to which Schnauss sent CD's on a regular basis. Ulrich developed these submissions to CCO into his first album under his own name, Far Away Trains Passing By, released in Europe in 2001, and in the United States in 2005.
His next album, 2003's A Strangely Isolated Place, showed the influence of My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields and Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie. Schnauss has said of this album, "When you've worked with computers and keyboards for a number of years, they become not so fascinating of themselves anymore. I gained confidence after people began to discover Far Away Trains Passing By, and it hasn't really stopped since then. This time I decided not to compromise on what I wanted to do, with what I thought people might want me to do."[1]
Since the release of both albums Ulrich has been asked to work with and remix with artists, including Port-Royal, Mojave 3, Asobi Seksu, Televise, Long-view, Johannes Schmoelling, The Zephyrs, Lunz (Rodelius), and others.
He also plays keyboards for UK indie band Long-view, whose singer Rob McVey was featured on Ulrich's latest album Goodbye. In an interview he said: " I have always loved music that has both elements: melancholy and sadness as a description of the current situation you are in, but at the same time a hopeful, utopian element that reminds you of the possibility of a different life." [2]
His third album, Goodbye, was completed in early 2007. It was released in Europe by Independiente Records on June 25, 2007. The United States release followed on July 10 under Domino Records. Regarding this album, he said: "The overall idea was pretty much the same. I just wanted to merge the indie songwriting elements and electronic instrumentation. After the previous album I still had a feeling like there was more room to take these ideas to an extreme level when it comes to layering and laying down as many tracks as possible." [3]
On June 12, 2007, Ulrich released an EP named "Quicksand Memory." It contains two remixes by Robin Guthrie of previous releases, a mix by Rob McVey of a previously unreleased track, and an edit of a track appearing on his latest album.
Current status
In the spring of 2008, Ulrich remixed two tracks by the Manchester based shoegaze band Daniel Land and The Modern Painters. On October 27, 2008, the two tracks, 'Within The Boundaries' and 'Benjamin's Room', were released as a double A-side 7" single by the independent record label Sonic Cathedral; the labels 11th release.
In July 2008, the Stars EP was released to support his June/July US tour. A co-produced/co-written track with A Shoreline Dream titled "neverChanger" was released on an EP of the same name. Ulrich traveled out for a short tour with the band in Texas and Colorado to promote this effort, and performed this track with A Shoreline Dream during his performances.
In the fall of 2008, Ulrich collaborated on three new tracks with A Shoreline Dream titled "hypermode", "departure" and a live version of "neverChanger" which all appear on the A Shoreline Dream album Recollections of Memory – officially released on February 10, 2009.
In October 2009, Schnauss's record labels, Independiente and Domino, sued Guns N' Roses, alleging that the band had committed copyright infringement by using portions of Schnauss's compositions in the track "Riad 'n the Bedouins" on the album Chinese Democracy.[4]
In 2010, Schnauss was involved in the mixing of Exit Calm's self titled debut album.
Rachel Staggs and Carlos Jackson of All in the Golden Afternoon began work in the studio with Schnauss in June of 2010. They completed three songs, one of which will be featured on a compilation for Rocket Girl Records. The Austin, Texas duo have plans to return to London in early 2011 to complete an entire album with Schnauss.
Ryan Policky of A Shoreline Dream visited Ulrich Schnauss in July of 2010 to work on a new collaboration titled "London". This was fully produced, engineered and mixed by Schnauss/Policky, and marks its debut on a compilation for Rocket Girl Records.
Schnauss also provided keyboards and backing vocals on Engineers' third album, In Praise Of More.
In other media
- "Monday Paracetamol" from A Strangely Isolated Place was used as one of the BGMs for the 2007 version of popular global EA Sports video game franchise Tiger Woods PGA tour.
- Later in 2007, the "On My Own" track from A Strangely Isolated Place was used by Pontiac in its "Cars" TV commercial.
- GMC's Super Bowl commercial in 2008 ("Mountain Top") featured "Blumenwiese Neben Autobahn" from Far Away Trains Passing By.
- "A Million Miles Away" was featured in the video game Gran Turismo 4.
Pseudonyms and groups
- Ulrich Schnauss
- Ethereal 77
- View to the Future
- Hexaquart
- Police in Cars with Headphones
- Hair (with Alex Krueger)
- Long-view (Keyboardist)
- Engineers (Keyboardist)
Discography
Releases
| Release title | Released as | Release type | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broken | View to the Future | 12" single | White Label | 1995 |
| Wegwerfgesellschaft | Police in Cars With Headphones | CD album | FSP | |
| Journey to the Other World | View to the Future | 12" single | VTTF | 1996 |
| Purity | Alphakid Recordings | 1997 | ||
| Music Is Music | Airdrops | |||
| We Rule the 80s | Hair (With Alex Krueger) | 12" EP | Müller | |
| The 7th Seal | View to the Future | CD album | Alphakid Recordings | |
| Unicorn | 12" single | Case Invaders | 1998 | |
| Hair 2 | Hair (With Alex Krueger) | 12" EP | USM | |
| Spring Rmx | Ethereal 77 | 12" single | Base Daddy | 1999 |
| Landscapes | CD album | |||
| Ignorance | Junkie Sartre Vs Hexaquart | 12" EP | Force Tracks | 2000 |
| Exploitation | Hexaquart | Lifetime | 2001 | |
| Far Away Trains Passing By | Ulrich Schnauss | CD / LP | City Centre Offices | |
| Zero Gravity | Ethereal 77 | 12" single | Looking Good | 2002 |
| A Strangely Isolated Place | Ulrich Schnauss | CD / 2xLP | City Centre Offices (Europe) / Domino (US) | 2003 |
| Quicksand Memory | CD/EP | Independiente (Europe) / Domino (US) | 2007 | |
| Goodbye | CD/LP | |||
| Stars | CD/EP | 2008 | ||
| neverChanger | A Shoreline Dream | CD/EP | Latenight Weeknight | 2008 |
| Recollections of Memory | CD album | 2009 |
Remixes
- as Ulrich Schnauss
- Madrid - Out To Sea (YYZ Records)
- Port-Royal - Stimmung (Resonant Recordings)
- The High Violets - "Chinese Letter" (Reverb Records)
- Howling Bells - Setting Sun (Bella Union)
- Johannes Schmoelling - Icewalk (Viktoriapark - Collaboration With Robert Wässer)
- Hrk - Love World (Joint Records)
- Obscure Celebrities - Fahreinheit (Gooom Disques)
- I'm Not a Gun - Make Sense & Loose (City Centre Offices)
- Airiel - Sugar Crystals (Highwheel)
- Justin Robertson - Love Movement (Bugged Out)
- Mojave 3 - Bluebird of Happiness (4ad)
- Long-view - Can't Explain (14th Floor Rec)
- Long-view - Will You Wait Here (14th Floor Rec)
- Pete Lawrence - Musical Box (Big Chill)
- Sia - Breathe Me (Go Beat)
- Depeche Mode - Little 15 (Reprise/Mute)
- The Zephyrs - Stand Round Hold Hands (Club Ac30)
- Rachel Goswell - Coastline (4AD)
- Mark Gardener - The Story of The Eye (Sonic Cathedral)
- Asobi Seksu - Strawberries (One Little Indian)
- A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ghost in the Graveyard (Ruined Potential Records)
- as View to the Future
- Korsakow & Nudge (Usm)
- as Hexaquart
- Daniel Lodig - Connect (Müller)
- Beroshima - Electronic Discussion (Müller)
Compilation appearances (exclusive tracks only)
- Police in Cars With Headphones - "Bitte Lächeln - Wenn Sie Wollen," on Artgenda 96
- View to the Future - "Addicted to Your Smile," on Barcode
- Tinkabell - "Rosarotes Meer," on Chillin' Voices 2 (Shift Music - Collaboration With K. Hein)
- Ethereal 77 - "Forever," on Schöne Neue Welt (Space Teddy)
- Ethereal 77 - "Oblivion & - Open Skiez," on Unpleasant Poems (Ground Liftaz)
- Ulrich Schnauss - "Nothing Happens in June," on Mashed Mellow Grooves 5
- Ulrich Schnauss - "You Were the Only One Around," on The Sound of the Cosmos (Hooj Choons)
- Ulrich Schnauss - "Crazy For You & - Wherever You Are," on Blue Skied An' Clear (Morr Music)
- Ulrich Schnauss - "As If You've Never Been Away," on The Trip (Universal)
- Ulrich Schnauss - "On My Own(Sasha Involver remix)," on Involver (Global Underground)
- Ulrich Schnauss - "Nobody's Home" on "Nick Warren:Reykjavik" (Global Underground)
- Ulrich Schnauss - “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” (live version) on “Vapor Trails: The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 14" (Echodisc)
References
- ^ Ulrich Schnauss, Website biography. Accessed July 28, 2007.
- ^ http://www.undertheradarmag.com/ulrich.html
- ^ http://surfingonsteam.blogspot.com/2007/10/interview-ulrich-schnauss.html
- ^ Guns 'N Roses Sued for Copying Songs. Billboard, October 6, 2009.
External links
Official sites
Discographies
- Ulrich Schnauss discography at Discogs
- Ulrich Schnauss discography at MusicBrainz
Unofficial/fan sites
Interviews