Distance Told Me Things To Be Said

Behind Mapstation is Stefan Schneider (To Rococo Rot, Music A.M.) from Düsseldorf, and this is his fourth recording and debut for the ~scape label. Distance Told Me Things To Be Said brings us to unknown topographies and familiar surroundings alike. Produced between 2003 and 2005 at various studio and living places in London, Berlin and Düsseldorf, it was mixed by Bernd Jestram of Tarwater. On songs like "Horns Version" and "Warm Distance" we hear wonderful guest appearances by London- based trombonist Annie Whitehead, and Martin Brandlmayr of Vienna trio Radian is once again the percussionist of choice. After his stunning performance on Mapstation's previous album Version Train, Brandlmayr offers polyrhythms that elegantly and effortlessly match with the sequencers. The songs "Valencia Was Asleep" and "Listening to Stockholm" are based on real live recordings from these cities and project a sense of narration -- pockets of silence within amplified streets. On "Loin D'Afrique" we find the other Africa, imbued with a mild ecstatic feeling, the scenery slowly changing from dark green to ochre where circling rhythms and melodic fragments produce afternoon atmospheres and twilight music. Also found here are plenty of electronic sounds, 303 basslines, drum machines, percussion and trombone phrases. By combining low-key melodies with field recordings, a submerged reality seeps into the material: a child is playing somewhere nearby, the window is open, a car is passing by. Then you return to the room to scrutinize the atlas. This is an album of quiet music and secret melodies.