Detailed Reviews [Jack Ellister - 2020 - "Lichtpyramide"]

Prolusion. UK based artist Jack Ellister has been around the block a few times, and if I remember correctly he had some past endeavours going before opting for the Jack Ellister artist moniker as well. But over the years he has been something of a mainstay of niche record label Fruits de Mer Records, and he has also started to release material outside of that label's scope. The album "Lichtpyramid" is one of those albums, and was released through German label Tonzonen Records in 2020.

Analysis. Ellister is known for being a psychedelic rock artist, and that is a style he does explore also on this production. In this case the music is more minimalist and experimental however, and arguably closer in style and execution to krautrock than psychedelic rock as such. Without really being a perfect fit for either categorization. The material here is of a distinct minimalist nature. The arrangements are sparse, and the material soundscapes more than compositions. There's an improvised feel to the landscapes explored here, and whether these are creations recorded as they were performed with loops and effects creating the different layers or if this is a case of mixing and splicing after recording I don't know. The important bit, I guess, is that this album could have been created in either way. All the songs here revolve around three elements: A guitar, usually plucked and often reverberating to a lesser or greater extent. Vocals, usually sparse and soft spoken. Keyboards, usually expressive in some manner or other. The latter will range from sequencer-like rhythm oriented movements to circulating and fluctuating textures and drones, and tends to be the dominant aspect. The vocals tend to be the most low key, while the guitar usually represents the stable, fixed element. These three pieces are assembled and explored in a myriad of different manners, all of them minimalist, most of them experimental, quite a few of them experimental and with cosmic sounds and moods usually present in some form or other. On one end of the extreme we get the tranquil plucked guitar and wind synthesizer landscape explored on 'Bergwanderung', an introvert style meditative creation. On the other side of the extreme we get the more dramatic and haunting sequencer-sounding landscapes of the title track 'Lichtpyramide', a creation that in sound, form and execution sounds like a child of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" and Hawkwind's "Church of Hawkwind". That the song 'Korytarz' comes across a little bit like a minimalist take on Tangerine Dream probably merits a mention too. This is an album of low key, DIY excursions into softly cosmic, improvised sounding landscapes with what I'd describe as something of an ongoing krautrock undercurrent. Material that draws upon the krautrock legacy and explores it in a DIY and low key manner if you like, where repetition and an otherworldly feel are the more tangible assets as such.

Conclusion. "Lichtpyramide" is very much a production made with a do-it-yourself ethos, low key and lo-fi material with a pure and honest sound, mood and atmosphere. Music made for introverts to some extent, and possibly music made by an introvert too: I don't know the artist so this is merely an impression. If a sparse, minimalist variety of experimental psychedelic rock and krautrock with a bit of an expressive edge sounds like something you would enjoy, this is an album worth investigating.

Progmessor: January 2023
The Rating Room