The Nightcrawlers "Crystal Loops"
Back in the early 90s I received a couple of cassettes from the electronic band, The Nightcrawlers. Unfortunately, I lost touch soon thereafter but always enjoyed and often returned to the two tapes they sent me. Beautifully repetitive and hypnotic synth improvs somewhat in the German fashion but imbued with real taste and feeling.
I have also taken the liberty of posting sound files for their 1983 cassette tape Crystal Loops. Usually, I always make sure the artist approves of this first but I cannot make contact with anyone from the band and I feel strongly that this wonderful music needs to be heard today because it is timeless and haunting.
Below, Scott Burt talks about his fascination with this band and his research to find out more.
I was rather late in discovering the fantastic music created by Nightcrawlers. In the mid nineties, I was just discovering the big names like Tangerine Dream, Jarre, and Vangelis. By the turn of the century, I was hungry for more and actively lurked on several electronic music mailing lists learning about more obscure artists – older classics like Michael Hoenig and Ashra, and newer acts like Airsculpture and Radio Massacre International. Of course, these couldn’t be found at the local music shops in Idaho where I lived. I soon discovered a few european mail order shops and, before long, I was spending a considerable amount of money importing CDs and broadening my collection beyond the “big names”. In what often felt like a game of musical Russion-roulette, I managed to discover a number of gems amidst the many mediocre (and sometimes awful) albums that I puchased essentially blind. One of these gems was the double-CD “Travelling Backwards” by the Nightcrawlers.
The Nightcrawlers’ heyday was the eighties; they self-released a large number of cassettes and three LPs. I was sadly ignorant of all of this. Luckily, they re-released a compilation of their three LPs on the Manikin label in 1997. I managed to snatch up a copy in 2002 before they were all sold out and it quickly became one of my all-time favorites. Complex layers of interesting sounds, textures, melodies, and rhythms that build and decay in what is typically described as “berlin school” electronic music. However, the Nightcrawlers are quite different from Tangerine Dream and others lumped into that sub-genre. The music is more hypnotic and repetitive than Tangerine Dream’s 70-80s repertoire, yet it does contain elements that are reminiscent of early Klaus Schulze and aspects of Tangerine Dream. The music has an energy to it that is difficult for me to describe in words. With the renaissance in “classic electronic” music that has been going strong for the past decade or two, I have yet to hear anyone re-create the style of the Nightcrawlers.
It’s only relatively recently that I became aware of more details of the Nightcrawlers history – very active in their local live scene, encouraged a number of budding artists to get started (e.g., Chuck van Zyl), and released a large cassette catalog. These cassette releases were, essentially, a “best of” selection from their improvised jam sessions. I’m still hunting for more, but Crystal Loops is a great window into what their live improvisation would have sounded like. As with their studio albums, hypnotic rhythms that are deceptively simple and surprisingly catchy. Interesting melodies that, initially absent, really bring the rhythms to life in the middle of the tracks. The quality is, clearly, lower than their studio releases, but I find these tracks just as enjoyable. If you’re familiar with their work, crystal loop I and III are reminiscent of Modulus Four and (perhaps it’s a stretch) some aspects of Ombra.
Sadly, Tom Gulch passed away in 2013 and Peter Gulch appears to have disappeared from the music scene (he had a few colaborations in the late nineties with people like Chuck van Zyl – The Sound Museum is a fantastic example of Peter’s post-Nightcrawler’s work). Dave Lundt apparently released some solo albums, but I haven’t been able to track any down. If you can track down their studio albums, you won’t be disappointed. Many of their cassettes are supposed to be fantastic as well, but (so far) Crystal Loops is the only one I’ve been lucky enough to hear.
-Scott Burt
2015
Some discogs info on The Nightcrawlers
Traveling Backwards
Nightcrawlers
Spacewalk
Shadows Of Light
Thanks to Scott Burt for his research and comments.
Some various interviews with The Nightcrawlers
From Syne, Summer 1985 issue, #8507, pp. 34-35
[Syne was the fanzine published by the IEMA (International Electronic Music Association]:
Interview: Peter Gulch of the Nightcrawlers
by Lauri Paisley
The Nightcrawlers are a fascinating enigma in the world of independent electronic music. Consisting of brothers Peter and Tom, with friend Tom Lunt, they are also among the most prolific of indepedent electronic artists, musically influenced largely by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. I (LP) conducted this interview with Peter Gulch (PG). And now, for a most interesting and unique experience. . . .
LP: It seems you guys have been making electronic music together since the formation of the solar system — how did the Nightcrawlers originate? Were there ever any other musicians or has it always been Peter, Tom and Dave?
PG: The origin of the Nightcrawlers is as nebulous as the group itself. We started in about 1979 with just Tom and myself, Pete. We had a vast craving for a certain style of floating cosmic music and we couldn’t find enough in the record stores. So we started doing it ourselves. Back then, we just played and had no idea of being a band. We just wanted to enjoy the sounds.
For about a year, I think around 1980, we played with a friend of Tom’s who did weird original things on acoustic instruments, but it didn’t work out. Tom and I wanted to be 100% totally electronic. The other gentleman didn’t want to buy a synth so we said goodbye.
Later, in 1981, we met Dave Lunt and he has been with us now for three years. Also, early this year, we played with a fourth member, Darren Kearns, who is a very talented electric guitar player/synthesist from the Philadelphia area. So, we may play with him again in the future.
From Zenith, issue unknown, circa 1991-92, pp. 18-19:
Interviews: Nightcrawlers
by Carl Jenkinson
Relatively unknown in the UK, the Nightcrawlers have developed quite a following in the US. Carl Jenkinson catches up with founder member Peter D. Gulch to find out more.
CJ: How did you become interested in music and especially EM?
PDG: All the members of the band (i.e. myself, my brother Tom Gulch, and Dave Lunt) had been exposed to various music forms from fairly early in childhood. However, it wasn’t until the early 70’s that we first started hearing such works as ‘Cyborg’ by Klaus Schulze or ‘Phaedra’ by Tangerine Dream, and we were all impressed significantly by these works. Not too sure how we came to listen to these, we all listened to quite a variety, so maybe it happened by accident. What is certain is the profound influence the music had on us all. It awakened some strong yearning to hear more of it, and for many years, we went to great lengths to collect and listen to works by all the newly emerging synth luminaries.
CJ: Did you have any musical training?
PDG: Up until the time we started the band, none of us had any musical training at all. After we started messing around with the first early synths, we decided to get some formal training. Tom and Dave both took piano lessons, and I studied music theory and composition for two years. I personally don’t have any technical training and basically taught myself how to play.
CJ: How did the Nightcrawlers get started?
PDG: Well, with all this special music around, which we couldn’t seem to get enough of, we decided to try for ourselves. We went out and bought one of the first synths on the market, and ARP Axxe. We started messing about on it and getting to understand basic synthesis. This is what prompted us to get some form of training — we wanted to move beyond sound effects. Around 1980, we decided to form the band with its present name, the reason being that we had been invited to a local music festival and we needed to call ourselves something!
CJ: Tell us about your early cassette releases.
PDG: In the early days, we focused primarily on playing live and jamming to come up with ideas. We were also learning a great deal about synthesis and music, so we didn’t concentrate on the recording end until much later. Basically, what we did was to put a ‘Boom Box’ with simple build-in condenser mics on a ledge in an old garage, and recorded everything live as it happened. These recordings were not the best, but they were generally acceptable to my ears. Some of them have been criticised for poor sound quality but on a moderate stereo system, they were not too bad.
I began to save all of these and then edit and compile them to make tapes up. Originally, they were just intended to be idea tapes and I didn’t realise at the time that I would be selling them to the public!
CJ: And then you released an LP?
PDG: Yes, in 1983 we recorded our first LP ‘Nightcrawlers.’ We had been encouraged by friends to do this because they thought we were sounding pretty good. It was a new venture and we all thought we could learn a lot by doing it. The LP was well received and we did two more albums after it, ‘Spacewalk’ and ‘Shadows of Light.’
CJ: Did you play live?
PDG: Yes, we played many, many concerts. During the peak of interest in this type of music, we played 7 or 8 concerts a year. We don’t play live as the ‘Nightcrawlers’ anymore, though. My brother had many medical problems with his back and he can’t get around too well. I personally have been doing more concerts with Xisle.
CJ: How did you become involved with Xisle?
PDG: Xisle was the brainchild of Chuck Van Zyl and my brother. We had met Chuck during a live radio broadcast from WXPN-FM at the University of Pennsylvania and he became friends with us. Chuck was a DJ on the program called ‘Star’s End.’ He was very keen on synth music and wanted to learn more, so my brother started to work with him and they formed the band. Xisle went through several transformations and eventually wound up in its present form of Chuck Van Zyl, Dana Rath and myself.
CJ: And you’ve also worked with Canadian synthesist Steve Brenner?
PDG: Yes, I met Steve at an EM performance in New Jersey. We struck up a friendship and decided to work together through the mail, i.e. exchange tapes and such. We’ve released two works together, so far, ‘Stellar Tunnel’ and ‘A Dark Hour for History.’ Steve’s a really good guy. I haven’t heard from him in awhile . . .
CJ: Is synth music popular in the USA?
PDG: I think that synth music has never been popular in the styles that we are talking about, i.e. Klaus Schulze or TD. There are small clusters of EM fans here and there, but I dare say that this style isn’t very popular with them. The only time you ever hear EM of this type is via the college radion stations.
No mainstream station has ever played any Schulze that I know of. It always amazes me that Klaus can release so many albums and yet nobody over here seems to have ever heard of him. How can he sustain the finances?
CJ: Tell us about the other acts on the Synkronos label.
PDG: Originally, I started the label for publishing rights to my own works. Chuck Van Zyl came up with the idea for adding other artists. Currently, we have Xisle, the Nightcrawlers and Art Cohen, plus, each band’s members have released several solo efforts.
Art Cohen works primarily with guitar loops and effects. The rest I think you could lump into the ‘space music’ genre. There was also a compilation out that included a few other artists.
CJ: Whose music do you rate nowadays?
PDG: Two of my favourites are John Serrie and Michael Stearns. Both of these guys are doing wonderful ‘space music’ which is the type I like best. I would highly recommend any works by these artists for fans of ethereal floating music.
CJ: Have any members of the band released solo works?
PDG: Yes, all of them have. Tom has released a work entitled ‘Somnility’ and Dave released “The Formation of Dreams.’ I have released two works, ‘Floating Premonitions’ and ‘Cybernetic Dancing.’ If any of your readers are interested, we put out a sampler tape of all these works, plus an excerpt from one of our live shows, called ‘Alone After Dark.’
CJ: Some of your albums are recorded live. Do you prefer to record this way?
PDG: I personally like live recording as opposed to multitracking. I like to play live and jam with other musicians. I am not a studio person; I can’t stand going over tracks many times. But that’s just me. I like the spontaneity.
Dave and Tom, on the other hand, like multitracking, so nowadays we do most of the track work on a computer. After listening to the track a few times, making minor corrections here and there, we play the whole thing live directly to tape. This is the way we did ‘Barriers.’
CJ: Tell us more about ‘Barriers.’
PDG: We released it just this past year. It’s a double cassette album. We decided to go with cassette because of the cost. We couldn’t afford to do a CD at the time (some hard times have encroached on us all). The music on ‘Barriers’ is quite different from our earlier work. I suppose all musicians go through some type of evolutionary process and their works are always changing.
A lot of the material on the album was played by hand, although with some of it you may think a sequencer is in control. This happened because of the new way we are working directly to tape.
CJ: And [in] the future — would you release a CD?
PDG: The future is pretty much open. I don’t think we will be doing any more live concerts, owing to my brother’s back problem. However, I would not strictly rule this out. We all still continue to record and compose music but we have not played together for awhile. We would like to do a CD, but only when we can afford it.
On the other hand, I will be releasing a CD with Chuck Van Zyl that is going to be pure ‘space music,’ although I hope it will appeal to all fans of Electronic Music. Recording work has commenced already. It is a very conceptual album with one main theme. Should be out sometime in 1993. [This album is Regeneration Mode, and is based on the cybernetic baddies known as “the Borg” — from the Star Trek: the Next Generation TV series and the Star Trek: First Contact film. In fact, the cover of the CD looks like a Borg “cube,” and the track titles are named after story elements of Borg-related episodes of the TV series —Steven Feldman]
Interviews and Reviews
From Syne #5, 1982
[Syne was the fanzine published by the IEMA (International Electronic Music Association)]:
The Nightcrawlers: A Profile
by James E. Finch
When one hears the word “NIGHTCRAWLERS,” one is reminded of worms, bugs, and other long-legged beasties lurking about in the pitch. It sounds like a good name for another electropop outfit, but this inventive duo is anything but “pop.” They have released NINE recordings to date, though the brothers Peter and Tom Gulch have been playing together for only a couple years. The style ranges from soundscaping to neo-Berlin school type cosmic music in the improvisational vein.
Between them presently is nearly fifty pieces of electroinic hardware, including the latest in digital technology. They play a unique, strictly live electronic music marked by computer percussion and sequencers set behind eerie melodies and sound effects that recall Klaus Schulze in the late ’70’s. But these days, they have gone beyond the Berlin school idiom made popular by Schulze and Tangerine Dream. They perform their own brand of what may soon be called JERSEY SPACE.
IEMA veterans are aware that the bulk of electronic music activity seems to emanate from the New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Manhattan areas. The NIGHTCRAWLERS seem to be the culmination of American’s cosmic rock experiment in the ’80’s. Their musical structure is relatively simple in context, but complex in orchestration. Layers of sound, catchy rhythms, and Schulzian keyboard noodlings are ever present. While Peter handles rhythms, effects, and background strings, Tom expresses the improvisational melody. With the occasional addition of Crumar keyboardist Dave Lunt, the NIGHTCRAWLERS paint thick sound sculptures that almost always take their audiences to the OUTER LIMITS, even in the middle of broad daylight, as witnessed at the recent IEMA Congress this past July.
All of their music is spontaneous and recorded in real time. The brothers blend well and never seem to compete with each other in musical expression — which often leads to splits with similar outfits in this genre. If Dave Lunt becomes a fixture in this new group, the NIGHTCRAWLERS and their tight progressive sound may go on to better things — this writer would like to see them on an LP. Live electronic music allows the listener to really become involved and enveloped with the performance, and the ever changing textures provide fresh experiences as one listens. There’s a peculiar “atmosphere” that can be felt from a live recording, which is why such recordings sell well on the white market. The NIGHTCRAWLERS epitomize today’s cosmic music revolution and they prove that New Wave does not have full control over electronic music’s directions in the ’80’s.
—————
From The Gloucester County Times, circa 1982-83:
Breakaway:
‘Crawler Music: It’s Far Out!
by John Scanlon, Times Entertainment Editor
PENNSAUKEN — The Nightcrawlers’ music tends to put audiences asleep, but, as Peter and Tom Gulch see it, that’s almost as good as a standing ovation.
“The people seem to get mesmerized by the music,” says Tom. “We played a concert where some people just stretched out along the stage — they became so soothed, they just feel asleep. It was something to see.”
Obviously, the Nightcrawlers aren’t punk, and they aren’t new wave, either. The Gulch brothers, along with a third member, Dave Lunt, are electronic musicians who specialize in synthesized rhythms that are something of a Sominex for the soul.
Their heroes are the German band Tangerine Dream — the Rolling Stones of electronic music — and musician Klaus Schulze who has done much in recent years to promote the form. You can call that form experimental. Call it avante garde, even cosmic or the outer limits. Just as long, say the Gulch brothers, as you call it music.
“People seem to have the feeling that electronic music is composed of gurgles or weird sounds,” says Tom in his Pennsauken home. “They seem to think a synthesizer is used just to create, say, a guitar sound, but that’s not so. It is its own instrument.
“It’s a fact,” he continues, “that it scares a lot of musicians, too. As soon as they see anything that has to do with electronics, they’ll go back to the piano. I learned to play classical piano, there’s a lot of stuff you can do on a piano — but it sounds just like that, a piano. With just a one-oscillator synthesizer, you have so many different sound combinations.”
The Nightcrawlers — a name suggested by a friend who thought it fit the group’s eerie repertoire — make their music with a battery of synthesizers and computers. The keyboards work of Tom and Dave carries the melodies of original compositions. Peter supplies the percussive foundation, along with the special effects that take the songs into a dimension far from the Top 40 charts.
Their transformation into Nightcrawlers is rather intriguing. By day, Peter, 38, is a chemist in charge of quality control at the Paulsboro Packaging Co. and brother Tom, 35, is a postman. Lunt, 22, works with the W.B. Saunders Co. in Cherry Hill.
“Dave, my brother and myself all like this thing we’re doing,” says Peter, who lives in Camden. “We blend well. The spontaneity between us is scary, it all just fall together. It’s like you have a unified consciousness of the machines and three people.”
The brothers started as an electronic duo in 1979, eventually adding a third member who, it soon turned out, was “heading in a different direction than us and left,” says Peter. So the brothers played on until recruiting Lunt, a Collingswood resident, in late 1981.
The group doesn’t sit down to write songs; they’re inspired solely by improvisation. There are no vocals, no slick stage theatrics. The Nightcrawlers immerse themselves in free-wheeling, instrumental opuses — some lasting a few minutes, others lasting close to an hour — that feed on imagery and mood.
“Everything is composed in our heads,” Peter explains. “We take a basic rthythm or theme in a particular key, then we just keep building on it to the point where everyone has a distinct part. We don’t write a note, but the phenomenal thing is we don’t forget it. The piece won’t always be performed the same way, it’ll be different, but that’s cool, too.”
Since 1980, the group has recorded well over a dozen compositions on cassette tapes sold by mail order from Peter’s home. A catalog lists such song titles and definitions as “Poltergeists” (five impressions of the elf underworld); “Narcolepsis” (two out-of-the-body aural experiences at night); and “Midwinter Daydream” (wandering in a blinding snowstorm at midday).
Some of these tapes have caught the ears of reviewers with small publications devoted to experimental music. The reviews have been favorable, branding the music with words like “surreal,” “relaxing,” “ethereal.” Or, as one reviewer said while critiquing a song called “Systema Naturae”: “This is really a delightful cassette from South Jersey’s foremost — perhaps only — masters of synthesizer pleasantries.”
The brothers and Lunt realize their music appeals to a narrow, partisan audience, much like electronic music fans who packed a recent Nightcrawlers concert at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia. After all, we’re not talking pop rock or Michael Jackson here. It’s not frenzy for the feet, but rather salve for the psyche.
“We’re amazed how well we’ve been accepted for what we do. No one has come up to us and said, ‘You guys stink, what you do isn’t music,” says Peter. “It’s a shame more people can’t experience it. It’d be nice to take the music to someone who hasn’t heard it and have them say, ‘Wow, that’s great, that’s weird.’ Most of the people we play in front of are into this type of music.”
Whatever exposure the band has enjoyed, he says, can be attributed to WXPN, the radio station at the University of Pennsylvania. The station has been playing the group’s tapes, and even sponsored a Nightcrawlers concert on the campus.
What really boggles Peter’s mind, though, is that the group has picked up some fans in Europe, where electronic music remains a popular form. Through mail-order sales of the tapes people in Germany — and even some in Poland and Yugoslavia — have sent requests to his home, explaining they had found his address in capsule reviews of the Nightcrawlers’ music.
“They said they’d seen small tidbits about our tapes in some of the underground music magazines,” says Peter with a shrug.
At the moment, the group is ready to distribute something else — its first album in late January. Last summer, the musicians started three months of recording at a studio in Lunt’s home, and they concluded the final stages of production just a couple of weeks ago. The result is “Nightcrawlers,” a 48-minute LP that features four compositions. It’ll be available through the group’s mail-order operation.
“When the album comes out and we’re legitimate, we hope to do very well. I don’t mean in the sense of groups like Journey or Asia,” he says with a laugh, “but in the sense of what we’re doing. And that’s electronic music.”
(For information about the Nightcrawlers tapes or record, write to Peter Gulch, 1493 Greenwood Ave., Camden, N.J., 08103.)
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From Page 33 of unknown magazine, from 1982 or 1983:
THE NIGHTCRAWLERS [first LP]
reviewed by Sam Rosenthal [the same Sam Rosenthal who, at the time, was a one-man band called Projekt Elektronic America, then later founded the Projekt record label]
The Nightcrawlers (1493 Greenwood Ave; Camden, NJ 08103) Whoa My God! A fantastic (52 minute) album of electronic music (in the vein of 1980’s Tangerine Dream). Let’s forget comparing THE NIGHTCRAWLERS, their music is SO good! They deserve to achieve the height of popularity that TD has reached. It’s all there: the running sequencer-patterns, the pulsating drum-beats, the catchy leads, the ethereal out-in-space sounds, everything! “Modulus Four” is beautiful, reminds me of Side A of Peter Baumann’s Romance ’76 (my favorite side of EM) with a bouncy bell-like sequencer, cymbally drums, low synths, and a high running lead. Lord, this IS great!
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From unknown magazine, probably from 1985:
Spacebait: the Nightcrawlers’ Cosmic Allure
by Bob Morris
When people fall asleep at a Nightcrawlers concert, the band takes it as a compliment. Y’see, they play “cosmic floating space music” and if someone should feel so transported that they curl up into a ball beside the stage and float away . . . well, that’s what it’s all about.
Like a lot of electronic music bands, the Nightcrawlers are heavily influenced by Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. Influenced, yes. Imitative, no. Their music is lush, almost symphonic, sometimes dreamy, sometimes full of grandeur. Yet, at the core, there remains depth and emotion — and this is what sets the band apart from other “colder” electronic music groups. Their music may be entirely electronic, but it still has feeling to it. The Nightcrawlers, while owning a self-built studio and large arsenal of electronic equipment, have the ability to make their computers reflect the feelings and moods that they want to portray.
Founder Peter Gulch is perfectly aware of what sets his unit apart from others of their ilk, both musically and in terms of their self-sufficient operation. The band was started in 1979 by Pete and his brother Tom Gulch. (A third member left in ’81 and was replaced by Dave Lunt, and the lineup has stayed that way ever since.) They started out by releasing cassettes, got plugged into the indie cassette underground, soon building quite a reputation. Over the years, they’ve released about 15 tapes, garnered nearly universal praise, collaborated on several other tapes, built their own studio, and recently released their second album. Yet, for reasons that remain obscure, the usual independent distribution channels remain closed to them.
The ‘Crawlers recorded both of their albums in their own studio, which they built when they decided that the cost of building a studio would probably be less than the cost of renting a studio at $50-200 an hour to record. Not to mention the other benefits like complete artistic control, being able to record any time they want, renting it out to other bands, etc., etc. They are fanatics about sound quality, and having the studio means they don’t have to accept lesser quality sound as a trade-off for costly studio time. As Peter sagely notes, “Why spend $5000 to record an album in a studio when you can build a studio for the same amount?
The group rejected seven test pressings of their first LP before they got one they were happy with. They recommend that any band ensure that they also have the same right when they go to get their record pressed. They also urge that bands buy and memorize How to Make And Sell Your Own Record by Diane Rappaport, and to get a lawyer because as Pete has found, “without one you can end up worse than if you’d done nothing at all.”
Their first (self-titled) album was released on their own label. Their second LP, Spacewalk, is on Atmosphere, a Philadelphia label. Pete feels that the big advantage to having a contract is that “someone pays you to do the album rather than having to shell out a lot of money yourself to do it.” On the first record, the songs are shorter, more structured, and contain more sequencer work than the second album, which is more diversified, more “laid-back and floating,” and which the band considers their best yet. “Space Walk” takes up an entire 25 minute side of the second album, and is perhaps the epitome of Nightcrawlers music. It also marks their almost complete discontinuation of analog instruments. With the exception of one synth that sometimes uses analog sound, everything they do now is digital. Peaceful, introspective and expressive, their music avoids the pitfalls of New Age mindlessness and of over-reliance on electronic gadgetry at the cost of creativity.
After the Nightcrawlers got their first album back from the pressing plant, they were faced with the question that has plagued many an indie band: “I’ve got 1000 albums in the living room, what do I do next?” Sell ‘em, that’s what. All of the band hold day jobs, but they found time to work 2-3 nights a week on the business end of things; mailing out promos “by the truckload,” contacting magazines and radio stations, selling the album to local stores and by mail order, and so on. Since they’ve built up a sizable local following, they’ve found that their own concerts are one of the best places to sell their album.
Tom and Dave have been taking classical piano and music theory lessons for years, and that influence is showing up in the Nightcrawlers’ music. That, and their increasingly heavy reliance on MIDI instrumentation, are the main indicators of their future sound. When they record, they use their full array of instruments, and “everything is MIDI-fied with an 8-track sequencer running 8 modules,” with a battalion or two of synths and outboard effects bringing up the rear. However, when they play concerts, they only bring two synths and a drum machine and do a lot of improvising over basic sequences, with the result that no two concerts are the same or even similar.
Although they’ve continued to record tapes even after releasing their records, they decided to do albums when they realized that “in radio, you’re just not considered a legitimate act until you do an album. An LP legitimizes your act and then people consider you professionals.” (Do I hear the gnashing of teeth coming from the cassette underground?) That may not be fair, but it is true.
The Nightcrawlers have gotten airplay, maybe not as much as a band of their caliber deserves, but then electronic music never seems to fit the “formats.” The band seems oblivious to the trends and cross-currents swirling around most indie music, prefering to follow their own muse and make the kind of music that they enjoy making — an extraordinarily fine “cosmic floating space music.”
Peter Gulch, 1493 Greenwood Ave., Camden, NJ 08103
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From The WXPN Express Program Guide 88.9FM [University of Pennnsylvania], June 1985 issue, p. 1
Diaspar: Philalectic Sound
[author unknown]
Philadelphia’s homegrown electronic music scene has been growing for the past few years, and several stalwarts have recently been reaching beyond the Delaware Valley with recordings, concerts, and — now — a radio series.
“Philalectric Sound” is a series of three programs, each featuring a Philadelphia electronic artist or ensemble: The Ghostwriters, The Nightcrawlers, and Darren Kearns. Each segment contains recordings from 1984 concert appearances and interviews with the artists.
The Ghostwriters, who are Jeff Cain and Charles Cohen, have been performing music together for over ten years and have greatly influenced many of the electronic artists now based in Philadelphia. The “Godfathers” of Philadelphia’s electronic music scene started out as a purely improvising duo, but have gradually developed a repertoire that includes both individual and joint compositions. Their longstanding association has resulted in an almost telepathic communication between them in concert. Unfortunately, they perform too seldom. Their Philalectric performance, in addition to being a rare treat, offers a diverse mix of new, old, joint, and solo pieces that highlights the broad range of their music, from sweeping sonic landscapes to quirky electronic pop tunes to Cain’s lyrical piano style.
The Nightcrawlers are the Delaware Valley’s answer to the German space music of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and company. The group consists of Tom Gulch, Peter Gulch, Dave Lunt, and an enormous band of electronic instruments. But with all this technology, they create beautiful, organic music the expansiveness (their pieces are often a half-hour long) of which envelopes the crowds at Nightcrawlers’ concerts.
Guitarist and synthesist Darren Kearns heard the music of local electronic artists like The Ghostwriters and The Nightcrawlers, decided to go public with his own work, and thus delivered himself from the Jersey bar band circuit. He’s given several concerts in the last year with Dave Lunt from The Nightcrawlers, and the collaboration produces an ethereal carpet with soaring guitar overlays.
“Philalectric Sound” will be broadcast at 8 pm on Diaspar during the second . . .
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From Syne, Summer 1985 issue, #8507, pp. 34-35
[Syne was the fanzine published by the IEMA (International Electronic Music Association]:
Interview: Peter Gulch of the Nightcrawlers
by Lauri Paisley
The Nightcrawlers are a fascinating enigma in the world of independent electronic music. Consisting of brothers Peter and Tom, with friend Tom Lunt, they are also among the most prolific of indepedent electronic artists, musically influenced largely by Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. I (LP) conducted this interview with Peter Gulch (PG). And now, for a most interesting and unique experience. . . .
LP: It seems you guys have been making electronic music together since the formation of the solar system — how did the Nightcrawlers originate? Were there ever any other musicians or has it always been Peter, Tom and Dave?
PG: The origin of the Nightcrawlers is as nebulous as the group itself. We started in about 1979 with just Tom and myself, Pete. We had a vast craving for a certain style of floating cosmic music and we couldn’t find enough in the record stores. So we started doing it ourselves. Back then, we just played and had no idea of being a band. We just wanted to enjoy the sounds.
For about a year, I think around 1980, we played with a friend of Tom’s who did weird original things on acoustic instruments, but it didn’t work out. Tom and I wanted to be 100% totally electronic. The other gentleman didn’t want to buy a synth so we said goodbye.
Later, in 1981, we met Dave Lunt and he has been with us now for three years. Also, early this year, we played with a fourth member, Darren Kearns, who is a very talented electric guitar player/synthesist from the Philadelphia area. So, we may play with him again in the future.
LP: Another thing I’ve come to know you for (plus others who have attended your concerts, I’m sure) is your stockpile of equipment — what is your current inventory? And where do you PUT it?
PG: Yes, we do have a lot of equipment, but in recent times, we have been trimming down. As the instruments have become more sophisticated and able to do more things, the need to use more synths has diminished. You know, back when we used all mono synths, it was needed to layer sounds, because the monos only do one sound at a time. So, if you wanted four or five layered sequences, you had to have four or five dedicated synths for just that. Then you needed others for playing and effects. Today, it’s different.
Currently, at concerts we have been using three Jupiter 6’s, Korg Poly Six, Korg Poly 61, Crumar DS-2, Korg Poly-800, Korg EX-800, Korg MP-4, Roland MSQ-100, Roland TR-808, SH-1, SH-101, MC-202, TB-303 and a few effects pedals. Another instrument which I have used at every concert since I bought it many years ago is the Electro Harmonix Super Space Drum. I really like that goddamn little box. You can do such weird stuff with it.
At home, we all haver 15 or 20 synthesizers and computer devices, but we don’t take them to concerts anymore. To much trouble. All the instruments are kept at home by the respective musicians. Tom and Dave have their own studios.
LP: Do you still sell all the tapes you made prior to your album? List them here.
PG: Yes, we still sell all the tapes we’ve ever put out for people to listen to. The list is fairly long (Paisley Note: see addendum at the end of this interview). All the tapes in our cassette catalog, by the way, are live first takes and are totally unique. The way you hear it is the way it happened. I particularly like the spontaneity of the live situation more than the studio. Tom and Dave are more studio oriented.
LP: You have accomplished the dream of, I would think, every independent musician who has not yet done so — your own record! Congratulations! Now, how about telling me how you did this — all the gory details, from composition of the music to recording, to the financial/legal hassles?
PG: The record story is quite complicated and I’ll just give you a brief summary of the details. We thought the record would be a good exercise to see what happens. Sort of an experiment. So we had tons of music laying around, and chose to pick four pieces that everybody liked. We recorded them in about a month at Dave’s studio, and had it mixed down at a private studio for $50 an hour. We didn’t like the final mix altogether, but didn’t have any more money. So we said screw it. It doesn’t sound that bad.
The guy who did the mix also acted as a broker for the album. We had a lot of trouble; five test pressings, lawyers, etc., were needed to bring the whole thing together. The whole thing cost us about $3,000 to do 1,000 records. So far, we are about $1,500 in the hole. It is really hard to sell music like ours. My advice to anybody who wants to make a record on their own, totally independent, is to be prepared to lose your investment. Also, get yourself a good music lawyer.
As far as your question about how did we compose the music, we don’t compose in the sense of saying we will do this or that. We usually improvise everything even in the studio when we are laying tracks down. It’s more fun like that. We would never be able to repeat what happened on that first album even if we really wanted to. Everybody said, “Let’s try this or that.” Entirely haphazard.
LP: Where did you record the album, and describe the studio (location, type if equipment).
PG: The studio is Dave’s. It’s called Experimental Change. It consists of a Tascam 38 eight track, 32 1/2 tracks for mixdown, and a TEAC M35 board, Hofler amp, and AR speakers. We are in the process of getting some outboard gear. We have a dbx I noise reduction system. Dave has also just purchased a digital reverb. We don’t use delays too much.
So far, in working on our second album, it has saved us a fortune having our own studio. We’ve just put a lot of effort into this sceond album, and a lot of time.
LP: Tell us about your next album. What is the current progress report? Are you having as many problems with this as with your first?
PG: The second album is done, and now only has to be put together as far as the cover, pressings, etc. The album is supposed to be backed by a small record company in Maryland, and the details are not confirmed, as of yet. So more on that, later. We have not had any “problems” with the second album, so far. We’ve spent about three months to do the entire recording and mixdown. The album was mixed down this time at Dave’s studio, and we are 100% satisfied with it. We took a lot of care in getting everything just right.
LP: You do quite a few concerts — do you ever play material from your tapes/LP live? Or do you just play it by ear? How do you manage to coordinate such intricate, subtle textures onstage? Describe a typical concert situation.
PG: As I may have mentioned before, we do everything spontaneously. We have played material from our album and tapes but they are always different every time we play. As you say, we play it by ear. For what may seem like an outrageous situation for some musicians, we don’t use any mixers, live. When we setup on stage, we plug everything directly into the amp and mix everything by ear from the individual instrument volume controls. The coordination is due to “feel by ear.” We try to set up so that we hear the same thing the audience hears, and must pay close attention to what is happening. This is extremely touchy and dangerous but we like it like this because of the simplicity, and also we don’t need to have an engineer with us to work the board. At some of our larger shows, we use two large PA systems with about 26 inputs. We’ve also purchased some monitors because in larger spaces you really have to watch the levels.
LP: How are your concerts arranged — by that, I mean how do you get to do them?
PG: We don’t arrange concerts. Most of our concerts have been from people asking us to do them for money or for a good cause. We don’t solicit performances. We are content to stay at home and play.
LP: Where do you get most of your musical ideas from? What artists do you like listening to?
PG: This question is very complex to answer. Most of our “ideas,” as you call them, are not in a sense ideas at all. Perhaps an illustration will best serve to show how we arrive at a semblance of a “piece.” This is usually how we work:
a) One of us will be goofing around at home, playing something or other. Then he might come across something that strikes his ear. So then he may add a few more parts;
b) We then get together and listen to the “idea,” if you want to call it that, and then we may jam over it for awhile and generate some more parts;
c) We keep messing with it, if it sounds good, and keep working-in other sounds;
d) Finally, we then decide the “piece” sounds cool to keep, so we jot down a few basic notes on who is doing what and we practice it. I use the term “practice” loosely. We keep experimenting.
e) When we reach a certain point, we usually stop because none of us can stand doing a piece too much. So we then go on to another piece.
Usually, for a concert with two sets and an encore, we work up about eight different pieces. Most of the time, we do them all, but always slightly different since we never write down any musical notes like a regular band. We do everything from memory and leave lots of room to space out and improvise. This may be why we have done 35 cassettes and two records, so far.
As far as artists are concerned, we listen to everybody, and I mean that literally. We’ll try anybody. Our two favorite E-music players are Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. They have probably had the most impact on our musical direction. All of us are heavily into classical music, also. I guess you can tell by our compositions.
LP: Dave Lunt has some solo material out — Do you or Tom think you’ll ever do solo projects? Why or why not?
PG: Yes, Dave has about four or five excellent space tapes out that he has done over the past two or three years. They are available from him for $5.00 if anybody out there wants to get a tape. His address is:
Dave Lunt
212 Guilford Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08108*
Tom will probably never have a solo anything out because he never finishes anything. He’ll work on a tape for six months and then, just before he has it “done,” he’ll throw it away because he says he is sick of it. So, I really don’t know if anybody will ever hear from him. There is hope, however: he has half of a C-48 done!!!
As far as I’m concerned, I doubt if I will ever have a solo anything because I can’t play worth a damn. I can read and write music and have had plenty of keyboard theory background, but I never had the patience to learn to play. Another serious drawback I have is that I don’t have a studio to record in like Tom and Dave do. So, I’m content to work up parts for the classically trained Tom and Dave to play over. Lastly, I have a tendency to fall asleep a lot and need nine hours of sleep every day. So, I never get anything done.
LP: Anything else you’d like to add?
PG: Yes, there is one thing I would like to add to all the prospective E-musicians who are coming up nowadays. Try, if at all possible from the outset, to strive to play live, somehow. Playing live before an audience is really a fascinating learning experience and there are practically no live electronic bands around anywhere. It is so rare to see a live E-music show around these parts, that I believe it really needs some attention. If more musicians and “bands” were up to it, I think it could really fulfull a largely missing gap in public performance repertoire. I encourage all of you to strive for it, and hopefully, one of these days, I’ll be able to attend one of your concerts. Good Luck, Everybody!
Addendum to Nightcrawlers Interview
Listed below are all the cassette albums available from the Nightcrawlers as of this time. They are real time dubs on AGFA PE 611 mastering tape with Dolby noise reduction. Descriptions of the music are courtesy of the Nightcrawlers:
1980 Releases
Cryptosphere — lost in misty subterranean tunnels while drugged.
Planetary Expedition — a four part interstellar journey in time.
The Fallen Sparrow — a meditative/cosmic free form collage.
1981 Releases
Hallucinatory Executions — six chapter dream/nightmare sequence.
Poltergeists — five impressions of the elf underworld.
1982 Releases
Synthimania — eight varied selections of aural tonescapes.
Systema Naturae — interpretations of the living systems on earth.
Hors d’Oeurves — a concert sampling plus two voted the best of ’82.
Narcolepsis — two out-of-the-body aural experiences at night.
Midwinter Daydream — wandering in a blinding snowstorm at midday.
Tanzwut — four multifaceted dancing tone clusters for the mind.
1983 Releases
Shadowless Veil — ethereal drifting of the soul in the netherworld.
Forbidden Monastery — two part invocation of n-dimensional spirits.
Spring Holiday — two fanciful works of evolutional complexity.
Evening Repose — falling asleep in a meadow full of crickets at dusk.
Transluminance — two contrasting images of lights and shadows.
Crystal Loops — twinkling interplay of dancing ice particles.
Chop-N-Hop — two selections for the child-at-heart in all of us.
1984 Releases
Memory Bubblz — two selections from the Philalectric Sound concert.
2031 AD — two long floating journeys into the future.
Space Shuttle — music to repair shuttle bay doors by.
Ombra — instabilities, shifting harmonies, chiaroscuro effects.
Cyber-Sons — electronic guitarist Darren Kearns and the Nightcrawlers.
All of the above cassettes are live real time recordings done at Sample and Hold Studios by the Nightcrawlers. Each is $4.00 postpaid. Send cash, check or money order made out to:
Peter Gulch
1493 Greenwood Avenue
Camden, New Jersey 08103 USA
From Syne, Summer 1985 issue, #8507, p. 37
[Syne was the fanzine published by the IEMA (International Electronic Music Association]:
NIGHTCRAWLER CASSETTES
One to one copies on AGFA PE 611 mastering tape with Doly B noise reduction
“Cryptosphere” – 1980 – C:46 = lost in misty subterranean tunnels while drugged.
“Planetary Expedition” – 1980 – C:46 = a four part interstellar journey in time.
“The Fallen Sparrow” – 1980 – C:62 = a meditative/cosmic free form collage.
“Hallucinatory Executions” – 1981 – C:62 = six chapter dream/nightmare sequence.
“Poltergeists” – 1981-82 – C:62 = five impressions of the elf underworld.
“Synthimania” – 1982 – C:62 = eight varied selections of aural tonescapes.
“Systema Naturae” – 1982 – C:48 = interpretations of the living systems on earth.
“Hors d’Oeurves” – 1982 – C:62 = concert sampling plus two voted the best of ’82.
“Narcolepsis” – 1982 – C:48 = two out-of-the-body aural experiences at night.
“Midwinter Daydream” – 1982 – C:48 = wandering in a blinding snowstorm at midday.
“Tanzwut” – 1982 – C:46 = four multifaceted dancing tone clusters for the mind.
“Shadowless Veil” – 1983 – C:48 = ethereal drifting of the soul in the netherworld.
“Forbidden Monastery” – 1983 – C:62 = two part invocation of n-dimensional spirits.
“Spring Holiday” – 1983 – C:48 = two fanciful works of evolutional complexity.
“Evening Repose” – 1983 – C:48 = falling asleep in a meadow full of crickets at dusk.
“Transluminance” – 1983 – C:62 = two contrasting images of lights and shadows.
“Crystal Loops” – 1983 – C:30 = twinkling interplay of dancing ice particles.
“Chop-N-Hop” – 1983 – C:30 = two selections for the child-at-heart in all of us.
“Memory BubblZ” – 1984- C:30 = two selections from the Philalectric Sound concert.
[compare this listing with the one for
Memory Bubblz — two selections from the Philalectric Sound concert. above]
“2031 AD” – 1984 – C:62 = two long floating journeys into the future.
“Space Shuttle” – 1984 – C:48 = music to repair shuttle bay doors by.
“Ombra” – 1984 – C:75 = instabilities, shifting harmonies, chiaroscuro effects.
“Cybersun-231” – 1984 – C:48 = two explorations of time warp dimensions.
[compare this listing with the one for
Cyber-Sons — electronic guitarist Darren Kearns and the Nightcrawlers. above]
All the above cassettes are real live time recordings done at Sample and Hold Studios by the NIGHTCRAWLERS. Each is $4.00 which includes postage. Send cash cheque or money order made out to:
Peter D. Gulch
1493 Greenwood Avenue
Camden, New Jersey 08103
U.S.A.
THANK YOU!
- This contact information might be out-of-date.
——————————-
Sex and the Single Sequencer
CONTENTS OF THIS FILE:
“Sex and the Single Sequencer: A Chat with Solo Synth Wiz Lauri Paisley, and Philly’s the Nightcrawlers,” by Neal M. Callander [Choice Magazine, May 1986, pp. 12, 16-7]
“Expose Yourself,” by Neal M. Callander [Choice Magazine, May 1986, p. 16 (sidebar to “Sex and the Single Sequencer”)]
From Choice Magazine, May 1986, pp. 12, 16-7:
Sex and the Single Sequencer:
A Chat with Solo Synth Wiz Lauri Paisley, and Philly’s the Nightcrawlers
by Neal M. Callander
Lauri Paisley hopes she’ll never have to make the choice, but if push comes to shove she would rather make music than make love. This exuberant young synthesist embodies the spirit of a new generation of electronic musicians who are finally gaining recognition as true pioneers in contemporary music. Carrying the E-music torch into the future, these dedicated souls are taking up where Tangerine Dream, Synergy and Klaus Schulze left off. Call it space, ambient, dreamscape or deep psychedelia, new ground is being broken by artists unafraid to explore the infinite possibilities of both man and machine.
If you are like most consumers of popular culture, you already have had significant exposure to synthesized sound. Many soundtracks to your favorite movies are created by an electronic synthesizer or other methods of sound processing. Also, synth-pop bands like Yaz and Depeche Mode rely solely on electronic keyboard instruments and effects for their snappy, danceable sound. And for you older fans, who can forget the end of Edgar Winter’s big hit, “Frankenstein.”
Pure electronic music, however, has developed its own rich tradition quite distinct from rock music. While cross-over music has emerged, the direction of influence has been from the electronic genre to rock, not vice versa. Classical iconoclasts like John Cage, Oskar Sala, Edgar Varese and later, Stockhausen, Terry Riley and LaMonte Young all paved the way for rock’s flirtation with electronic music in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s. Kraftwerk, Eno and Pink Floyd all owe a significant debt to these sonic voyeurs.
Two contemporary purveyors of music in the pure electronic vein are the aforementioned Lauri Paisley, a solo synthesist now residing in northern New Jersey, and the Nightcrawlers, a prolific E-music trio from the Philadelphia area. Both are part of vibrant communities of electronic practitioners based in their respective geographic areas. Both are producing novel forms of musical self-expression worthy of the great masters of the genre.
In recent interviews with both Ms. Paisley and Peter Gulch, spokesperson and chief synthesist for the Nightcrawlers, much was revealed about the creative process, the business of music and the electronic music scenes in Philadelphia and northern New Jersey.
Musicians with any integrity seem averse to being easily labeled. Both Ms. Paisley and Mr. Gulch insist that simplistic categorization of their music is most unfortunate. As Lauri Paisley emphatically states, “I don’t like to be categorized because you can’t put a copyright on a minor key sequence. Just because I use them, I don’t want to be told that I sound like Tangerine Dream. I don’t. I sound like me. For instance, on my new tape, Skywards, you will have to fasten your seatbelt during some parts. And then it goes from one change right into the next. It’s varied. It combines some of the more defined styles of electronic music: some of it is new age, some of it is Berlin-school, and some of it is neo-classical.
Peter Gulch reiterates this point: “We have tremendous influences, but when it comes down to the final product, it seems to embody principles from all these various disciplines, but somehow we have molded it into our own particular sound. It’s even different than people we are supposed to be sounding exactly like, for instance Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream.” To their credit, both produce unique music. Perhaps, however, such reference points are a necessary evil when curious listeners are considering unfamiliar artists.
Both Lauri Paisley and the Nightcrawlers began their musical training at an early age, studying formal classical music. Though she did not indicate composers or performers who most influenced her, Paisley mentions she began musical training when she was four, playing her uncle’s piano while attending family gatherings. Peter Gulch is more specific: “All three of us, myself and Tom, and Dave Lunt, are all classical music freaks. We had been listening to classical music long before we started listening to Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. A lot of the theoretical aspects of our work involve traditional classical structures like harmony and counterpoint. The feel and texture of the spacier parts come from the Berlin-school influence.” As to specific inspiration grounded in the classical tradition, Gulch replies, “A composer who had some influence on us early on was the avant-garde Pole, Kryztoph Penderecki. You can hear his influence especially on our tape, Cybersun-231.
Beyond this similarity, however, there exists a divergence in paths leading these artists into electronic music. While the Gulch Brothers and their partner, Dave Lunt, had a varied listening background which included classical, rock and jazz, their primary focus was on the classics of synthesizer-created music along with some interesting homegrown Philadelphia variations. In another interview, interestingly enough, with Laurie Paisley as interviewer, Peter Gulch recalled that he first was drawn to performing E-music because there was not enough of the spacey, floating music being produced that he liked. To remedy the situation, he and his brother bought synthesizers and began to learn to play.
“In 1980, we knew absolutely nothing,” says Gulch. “We sat down with the new synthesizers which you could buy for six or seven hundred, and we said, ‘Lets do this and lets do that.’ But after six or seven months, we realized that we could only get away with so many sound effects. We then had to really learn how to play.”
Ms. Paisley’s path to electronic music was fraught with twists and minor diversions. “I studied classical as a kid,” she says. “I didn’t listen to radio or records till I was 13 or 14. When I was 14, I dropped the keyboards and picked up the guitar, an acoustic twelve string. I played folky stuff like Jackson Browne, Dan Fogelberg and John Denver. When I was 16, I got into rock music and I started playing in bands. Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were popular at the time. Soon after that, I got back into the keyboards. I wanted to be in a band that was playing that kind of music. After being in a bunch of bands and dealing with things like leaving my instruments at a rehearsal space and not being able to work on my own stuff, or playing with bands who played all originals but none of my originals, I decided to go solo. I wrote lots of little songs on keyboards.
“I didn’t know of anybody else on the planet who was composing music that was just for synthesizer. I would often play the music for somebody and they would comment that it sounded good and it would sound even better if there were guitar and vocal tracks added. That was frustrating. For two years, I composed in a vacuum until one day I discovered an electronic music show, called Synthetic Pleasures, on WFMU in East Orange, New Jersey.”
This program was a revelation for Ms. Paisley. “I couldn’t believe it when the DJ come on the air and said, ‘You are listening to the Open Door [Synthetic Pleasure before a name change] — the forum for the independent electronic musician; that is the musician not signed with a major label.’ I then sent Richard Ginsburg a tape. He said the music was good but the recording was poor. So he set up a recording session for me. We got some air playable stuff and he had me on the show to play. He interviewed me and played some of my music. The rest is history.”
Each artist’s music reflects their separate pre-performance influences. While the Nightcrawlers have come a long way from the non-directional sequenced drone of their earlier work, they still create thickly layered, minor-key textured characterized by subtly propulsive rhythms, haunting minimalist melodies, and immense synthesizer washes. This somber meditative music draws inspiration from Berlin-school electronic music as well a mystical and lysergic encounters.
Lauri Paisley employs many techniques used by the Nightcrawlers, such as sequenced passages, wavering tonal clusters, and stereophonic panning, but with a much different effect. Her music can be best characterized as quite active and more consciously composed. Unlike the Nightcrawlers, who rely heavily on improvisation, Ms. Paisley works up a series of song fragments and puts them together in a coherent, flowing fashion.
“It starts out on the wing,” says Paisley. “I just sit down and play. When I’m playing, I will get ideas, and when I come across something I like, then I stop improvising and I work on that one thing. I then develop that theme. I string a whole bunch of these little parts together. To me, the real challenge is in the arrangement.”
Perhaps because she grew up enjoying popular songs and catchy rock riffs, Ms. Paisley’s work is lyrically accessible and more overtly poly-rhythmic. In this way, her music is more akin to Philip Glass’ upbeat, pulse music than German-influenced drone music.
Lauri Paisley and the Nightcrawlers have been producing music for close to seven years, now. The Nightcrawlers sport an amazingly prolific catalog of 24 tapes and 2 albums. This is partly due to their preference for real time or live recording. “A lot of the material on the tapes is totally first time without any practice,” says Gulch. “We sit down in our studio, get in a comfortable mood, and roll it. Much of the floating music we do, we just sit down and it comes out. That, for me, is extremely enjoyable. We never do anything twice.”
Paisley’s output consists of 6 solo tapes and a duo performance with synthesist Don Slepian. Rather than real time, Paisley prefers the endless possibilities of multitrack recording. However, hazards abound when excessive time is spent perfecting intentionally structured pieces. “When you work so intensely on a piece of music, like working 15 hours laying tracks for a 3 minute piece, there comes a point when you feel sick of the music,” Paisley says.
As with their respective ideas on the creative process, the Nightcrawlers and Lauri Paisley have a divergence of opinion about the future. “None of us have any direction whatsoever,” proclaims Peter Gulch. “Like the free jazz improvisors who technique was in their hands, our technique is in the machines. Many people have difficulty improvising, but for some reason, my brother, myself and Dave have some kind of kindred spirit or mind-meld. When we get together, it is magic.”
Lauri Paisley is more concrete when asked about upcoming projects. Becoming more proficient on an acoustic keyboard is foremost in her mind, these days. “For awhile,” she says, “I assumed that the ends justified the means. As long as I get good music, good arrangements, good compositions down on tape, it doesn’t matter whether I played it or programmed it. However, I soon began to think, who the hell do I think I’m kidding. There is nothing that beats the mastery of an actual instrument. I guess I feel that way deep down because I was brought up as an acoustic piano player and then moved into electronic music. I want to be an excellent synthesist as well as an excellent pianist.”
One thing they both agree on is the need to perform their music in front of live audiences and the need to collaborate with other electronic musicians. Paisley, who lives in Elizabeth, New Jersey, often packs her car with equipment and travels south to New Brunswick or Freehold to play with synthesist friends. She is co-conspirator in a vibrant electronic music community called the Creative Underground, whose members regularly meet to play and hold concerts in Somerset, New Jersey.
“The Creative Underground concerts are called the ‘Fire in the Firehouse’ series,” explains Paisley. “They are held in a real firehouse. The hall seats a couple hundred people and all the seats usually fill up. Several people are involved, including Patrick and Billy Tooker, Art Gerke, Neil Nappe, Jesse Clark and Bill Rhodes. They put on the shows. The performances are audio-visual extravaganzas. Patrick Tooker puts on the visuals using an array of lights and laser-like effects. He projects the images on a screen that goes all the way across the stage. The musicians perform on a platform that is below the stage level, so all you see are the visuals. He does his work to the music as it is being performed. There are always three resident musicians performing and then two special guests. They try to put on at least one show each month.”
The Nightcrawlers are part of another, closely related music scene in the greater Philadelphia area which also stresses real time concertizing. This community has impressive roots dating back to the late seventies when electronic groups like the Ghostwriters and Aural Prism could be heard bending minds and expanding eardrums at performance arts spaces and divey, hole-in-the-wall bars around town.
Now, according to Mr. Gulch, “a typical show is at the Painted Bride Art Center. It holds around 300 people. Show are both partially underwritten by city art councils and funded by money from the gate.” Other venues for E-music include St. Marys Church at the University of Pennsylvania and the Mandel Theater at Drexell University. When the members of the Nightcrawlers are between group projects, collaboration with other musicians is the order of the day.
Peter Gulch recently put together a tape with Canadian synthesist Steve Brenner, a man who he had never met. Each artist laid down tracks and sent the tape to the other to embellish and then returned it to the other for additional compositional enhancements. The final product is, according to Mr. Gulch, quite satisfactory. Tom Gulch also indulges in tangential undertakings, his current project being a duo, entitled Xisle. [A “duo”? Verrrry interesting! ;) —Steven]
To underscore the interconnectedness of these two musical communities, northern Jersey’s Creative Underground and Philadelphia’s Nightcrawlers will join forces on May 24th at the Maurice Levin Theater in Orange, New Jersey. According to the press release: “The show will begin with the Nightcrawlers on stage playing by themselves. As the show progresses, they will be joined by Lauri Paisley, Don Slepian, Neil Nappe, Jesse Clark, Charlie Elgart and David Prescott, one at a time, until the entire stage is filled with musicians. This electronic orchestra will play together under the visual artistry of Patrick Tooker.” This ultimate collaboration, involving the best of the new generation of electronic wizards, is a concert not to be missed.
To contact Lauri Paisley or the Nightcrawlers regarding equipment, purchasing tapes or anything else, use the following addresses. Both are quite eager to hear from the listening public. Don’t be surprised if you get a personal, handwritten note.
Lauri Paisley
Methylunna Music
812 Murray Street, #2E
Elizabeth, NJ 07202
[NOTE: the contact address above might be out-of-date.]
Peter Gulch/The Nightcrawlers
1493 Greenwood Avenue
Camden, New Jersey 08103
From Choice Magazine, May 1986, p. 16 [sidebar to “Sex and the Single Sequencer: A Chat with Solo Synth Wiz Laurie Paisley, and Philly’s the Nightcrawlers”]:
Expose Yourself
[by Neal M. Callander?]
Struggling synthesists take heart. Both Lauri Paisley and the Nightcrawlers have found a way to get their music out to the masses while still retaining full artistic control. The key is to produce taped copies of your music on cassettes and distribute your product through an established network of radio stations and magazines which cater to the independent musician. While these comments are directed mainly at E-music artists, rock, jazz and avant garde musicians may also benefit, too.
Every musician dreams of being discovered and promoted, ideally by a large record label who will make them a lot of money, or so they think. Actually, the number of bands and individual artists who “make it” this way is small. If you feel you have an important enough statement to make, don’t wait for some profit-hungry schlep to exploit you and sanitize your music. Promote yourself. Entrepreneurs in the business world can be an over-anxious bunch, but you can turn that same spirit around to your advantage if you have a little motivation and knowledge. Heed Ms. Paisley’s advice: “Don’t equate the financial success of selling a record with how talented a musician is or how original and creative their music is.” Get out there and create new and original music, promote it yourself, and maybe you will gain self-satisfaction, notoriety and perhaps even financial success.
The Nightcrawlers have successfully released 24 real time tapes on their own. According to Peter Gulch, “the aspect of total control over what is presented to the public is what I like a great deal. That gives you every opportunity to make sure when somebody gets your music it is something you would be proud to have them receive.” Then they released two albums: “When you let middlemen come into it, it immediately becomes frustrating because everybody has their own ideas about what they want to do. It interferes in a great many ways. For instance, on our first album, the guy who was mixing it down decided he had certain ideas about how it should sound. We did not have enough money at the time to go somewhere else to have it remixed, so we left it alone. Also, on Spacewalk, Atmosphere Records in Philadelphia paid for the whole project, including the manufacture, covers and everything. But now we have a problem. They included in the contract exclusive rights to the record’s distribution. So we’re at the full mercy of the company. If they want to let it rot in a basement, they can do it.” Asked if the experience with middlemen had been less satifying than putting out their own tapes, Peter Gulch replied, “no question about it. Both albums have been extremely trying, very frustrating, very time consuming, and so far, ultimately not monetarily rewarding.”
Lest I paint too rosy a picture of alternative distribution, I should point out that problems do occur. “Producing one’s own music takes time,” says Lauri Paisley. “My release list is now about sixty names long. Sixty radio stations and magazines. I have to dub all of the tapes two at a time in real time and I don’t have any high speed duplication equipment. I have to do all of the labels by hand because I can’t afford a printer. I have to package the tapes and write the cover letter and mail it all out. It takes two weeks to get the basic release done. Meanwhile, that is two weeks I could have been practicing.” Even still, she admits that, “control is the big issue. I’m producing myself. This can be both good and bad, but in the end, I have complete, 100 percent artistic control.”
If you want to try this route, you will have to purchase some basic equipment to get started. First, you will need either two reliable cassette decks for dubbing from one to the other (an OK method) or one good double cassette dubbing deck (a better method), preferably one that can record both sides of the tape at more than twice normal speed. Then, find a special deal on high quality tapes, the higher the quantity the lower the price. Now, get started. Once the tapes are produced, have an artist friend make up a simple line drawing which can be easily reproduced for the front cover insert. Be sure to list the song titles, band members and instruments played, acknowledgements, and possibly a neat quote or two (optional). Copy the insert, put the package together, and you are ready to begin your distribution. Here are some places to get you started on your search for sympathetic ears:
CLEM — the Contact List of Electronic Music is an 80 page listing of electronic music publications, radio stations, organizations, and recordings. Published yearly with updates. Contact: Alex Douglas, Box 86010, N. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V7L 4J5. $10 year cash or USPS money order, no checks. [NOTE: do not confuse CLEM with the Netherlands electronic music organization KLEM —Steven Feldman]
Recordings of Experimental Music — “Reviews records and tapes of experimental music, and covers such ground as contemporary classical, electronic music, minimalist, unusual jazz and anything else that could be considered avante garde or adventurous. Contact: 104 Fern Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108. $9 year for 6 issues.
SYNE — Published by the International Electronic Music Association, “an organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of electronic music as an art.” Quarterly publication. Contact: Jim Finch, PO Box 176, Salamanca, NY 14779. [now defunct]
Synthetic Pleasure — a radio show on WFMU, but also an informative quarterly magazine. Publication includes articles, reviews and contact information. Essential as a networking tool. Contact: Richard Ginsburg, c/o WFMU Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey 07019.
Cosmic Music Experiment — a Baltimore experimental music radio show. Contact: Steve Kellerman, DJ at WCVT 7005 Lachlan Circle B, Baltimore, MD 21239.
Option Magazine — Covers all aspects of independent and alternative music. Includes articles, reviews, networking information, and lots of interesting ads. Part of the Sonic Options Network. Contact: P.O. Box 491034, Los Angeles, California 90049. Call 213-472-2232. [now defunct]
[NOTE: many if not all of the addresses in the listing above are probably out-of-date.]
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From Zenith, issue unknown, circa 1991-92, pp. 18-19:
Interviews: Nightcrawlers
by Carl Jenkinson
Relatively unknown in the UK, the Nightcrawlers have developed quite a following in the US. Carl Jenkinson catches up with founder member Peter D. Gulch to find out more.
CJ: How did you become interested in music and especially EM?
PDG: All the members of the band (i.e. myself, my brother Tom Gulch, and Dave Lunt) had been exposed to various music forms from fairly early in childhood. However, it wasn’t until the early 70’s that we first started hearing such works as ‘Cyborg’ by Klaus Schulze or ‘Phaedra’ by Tangerine Dream, and we were all impressed significantly by these works. Not too sure how we came to listen to these, we all listened to quite a variety, so maybe it happened by accident. What is certain is the profound influence the music had on us all. It awakened some strong yearning to hear more of it, and for many years, we went to great lengths to collect and listen to works by all the newly emerging synth luminaries.
CJ: Did you have any musical training?
PDG: Up until the time we started the band, none of us had any musical training at all. After we started messing around with the first early synths, we decided to get some formal training. Tom and Dave both took piano lessons, and I studied music theory and composition for two years. I personally don’t have any technical training and basically taught myself how to play.
CJ: How did the Nightcrawlers get started?
PDG: Well, with all this special music around, which we couldn’t seem to get enough of, we decided to try for ourselves. We went out and bought one of the first synths on the market, and ARP Axxe. We started messing about on it and getting to understand basic synthesis. This is what prompted us to get some form of training — we wanted to move beyond sound effects. Around 1980, we decided to form the band with its present name, the reason being that we had been invited to a local music festival and we needed to call ourselves something!
CJ: Tell us about your early cassette releases.
PDG: In the early days, we focused primarily on playing live and jamming to come up with ideas. We were also learning a great deal about synthesis and music, so we didn’t concentrate on the recording end until much later. Basically, what we did was to put a ‘Boom Box’ with simple build-in condenser mics on a ledge in an old garage, and recorded everything live as it happened. These recordings were not the best, but they were generally acceptable to my ears. Some of them have been criticised for poor sound quality but on a moderate stereo system, they were not too bad.
I began to save all of these and then edit and compile them to make tapes up. Originally, they were just intended to be idea tapes and I didn’t realise at the time that I would be selling them to the public!
CJ: And then you released an LP?
PDG: Yes, in 1983 we recorded our first LP ‘Nightcrawlers.’ We had been encouraged by friends to do this because they thought we were sounding pretty good. It was a new venture and we all thought we could learn a lot by doing it. The LP was well received and we did two more albums after it, ‘Spacewalk’ and ‘Shadows of Light.’
CJ: Did you play live?
PDG: Yes, we played many, many concerts. During the peak of interest in this type of music, we played 7 or 8 concerts a year. We don’t play live as the ‘Nightcrawlers’ anymore, though. My brother had many medical problems with his back and he can’t get around too well. I personally have been doing more concerts with Xisle.
CJ: How did you become involved with Xisle?
PDG: Xisle was the brainchild of Chuck Van Zyl and my brother. We had met Chuck during a live radio broadcast from WXPN-FM at the University of Pennsylvania and he became friends with us. Chuck was a DJ on the program called ‘Star’s End.’ He was very keen on synth music and wanted to learn more, so my brother started to work with him and they formed the band. Xisle went through several transformations and eventually wound up in its present form of Chuck Van Zyl, Dana Rath and myself.
CJ: And you’ve also worked with Canadian synthesist Steve Brenner?
PDG: Yes, I met Steve at an EM performance in New Jersey. We struck up a friendship and decided to work together through the mail, i.e. exchange tapes and such. We’ve released two works together, so far, ‘Stellar Tunnel’ and ‘A Dark Hour for History.’ Steve’s a really good guy. I haven’t heard from him in awhile . . .
CJ: Is synth music popular in the USA?
PDG: I think that synth music has never been popular in the styles that we are talking about, i.e. Klaus Schulze or TD. There are small clusters of EM fans here and there, but I dare say that this style isn’t very popular with them. The only time you ever hear EM of this type is via the college radion stations.
No mainstream station has ever played any Schulze that I know of. It always amazes me that Klaus can release so many albums and yet nobody over here seems to have ever heard of him. How can he sustain the finances?
CJ: Tell us about the other acts on the Synkronos label.
PDG: Originally, I started the label for publishing rights to my own works. Chuck Van Zyl came up with the idea for adding other artists. Currently, we have Xisle, the Nightcrawlers and Art Cohen, plus, each band’s members have released several solo efforts.
Art Cohen works primarily with guitar loops and effects. The rest I think you could lump into the ‘space music’ genre. There was also a compilation out that included a few other artists.
CJ: Whose music do you rate nowadays?
PDG: Two of my favourites are John Serrie and Michael Stearns. Both of these guys are doing wonderful ‘space music’ which is the type I like best. I would highly recommend any works by these artists for fans of ethereal floating music.
CJ: Have any members of the band released solo works?
PDG: Yes, all of them have. Tom has released a work entitled ‘Somnility’ and Dave released “The Formation of Dreams.’ I have released two works, ‘Floating Premonitions’ and ‘Cybernetic Dancing.’ If any of your readers are interested, we put out a sampler tape of all these works, plus an excerpt from one of our live shows, called ‘Alone After Dark.’
CJ: Some of your albums are recorded live. Do you prefer to record this way?
PDG: I personally like live recording as opposed to multitracking. I like to play live and jam with other musicians. I am not a studio person; I can’t stand going over tracks many times. But that’s just me. I like the spontaneity.
Dave and Tom, on the other hand, like multitracking, so nowadays we do most of the track work on a computer. After listening to the track a few times, making minor corrections here and there, we play the whole thing live directly to tape. This is the way we did ‘Barriers.’
CJ: Tell us more about ‘Barriers.’
PDG: We released it just this past year. It’s a double cassette album. We decided to go with cassette because of the cost. We couldn’t afford to do a CD at the time (some hard times have encroached on us all). The music on ‘Barriers’ is quite different from our earlier work. I suppose all musicians go through some type of evolutionary process and their works are always changing.
A lot of the material on the album was played by hand, although with some of it you may think a sequencer is in control. This happened because of the new way we are working directly to tape.
CJ: And [in] the future — would you release a CD?
PDG: The future is pretty much open. I don’t think we will be doing any more live concerts, owing to my brother’s back problem. However, I would not strictly rule this out. We all still continue to record and compose music but we have not played together for awhile. We would like to do a CD, but only when we can afford it.
On the other hand, I will be releasing a CD with Chuck Van Zyl that is going to be pure ‘space music,’ although I hope it will appeal to all fans of Electronic Music. Recording work has commenced already. It is a very conceptual album with one main theme. Should be out sometime in 1993. [This album is Regeneration Mode, and is based on the cybernetic baddies known as “the Borg” — from the Star Trek: the Next Generation TV series and the Star Trek: First Contact film. In fact, the cover of the CD looks like a Borg “cube,” and the track titles are named after story elements of Borg-related episodes of the TV series —Steven Feldman]
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From Audion #28, Spring 1994, pp. 20-21:
Synkronos: Electronic Music of the Space Age
by unknown author
Established in 1983 by Peter D. Gulch, the kingpin of the synthesizer group The Nightcrawlers, as an outlet for their own music, Synkronos has since grown to be one of the most productive of American indie cassette labels.
The Nightcrawlers are one of the few groups to emulate classic 70’s Tangerine Dream and take the music onto new bounds. Their roster of releases is vast, some thirty odd cassettes and three LP releases, with some astonishing music, from the purely avant-garde through to the almost danceable. Even before Synkronos was established, the trio of Peter Gulch, Tom Gulch and Dave Lunt were exploring the nether-regions of space with a battery of analogue syths and sequencers. Some of the very early recordings are among my favourites, like the the eerie SHADOWLESS VEIL or the cold picture music of MIDWINTER DAYFREAM, both with strong references to ZEIT, RUBYCON and ENCORE. There were also more original excursions too, like the very abstract TRANSLUMINANCE, and later, with a blend of many Teutonic styles, is the excellent live tape SPACE RITUAL AT ST. MARY’S, featuring one Darren Kearns on guitar. The three LP’s that The Nightcrawlers have released are all deliberately more commercial styled than their cassettes, especially their debut, with its Baumann-esque sequencers and Schulzian swathes of sound.
Also featuring Peter D. Gulch is the trio Xisle (pronounced “Exile”), though it’s actually the product of synth wizard Chuck Van Zyl, who has also released numerous solo tapes. The trio are completed by D. Andrew Rath, a composer with experience in scoring soundtracks for films, etc. More original than The Nightcrawlers, but also more melodically based, Xisle have been very active on the live scene in their local Philadelphia region. With a music based around sequences and rhythms, they’ve a most descriptive and unique sound, easily the rival of any of their European counterparts. I doubt any space-head into 80’s Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Ian Boddy, Wavestar, et al, would be disappointed with any of Xisle’s releases. [Errr, I like all of the above except for Schulze, but I much prefer The Nightcrawlers to Xisle —Steven Feldman]
Of course, as with most synth bands, all the members of The Nightcrawlers and Xisle have done solo recordings. David Lunt’s THE FORMATON OF DREAMS (Synkronos SYNK 015) is quite a surprise, with just one track per side. Swirls features guitars and synths, and is reminiscent of the most esoteric Ashra, as it shimmers and glides in a most surreal manner. The title track, in contrast, relates closer to ZEIT and RUBYCON era Tangerine Dream, being vast and spacious, and only barely melodic. D. Andrew Rath’s QUANTUM (Synkronos SYNK 606) is not what I’d have expected at all. Far from the realms of Tangerine Dream or Xisle, it’s a collection of pieces that bridge the genres of progressive rock and synth musics. Opening in grandiose fashion with the aptly titled Phantom of the Cathedral, with swelling church organ, bombastic and powerful, almost as though it’s snatched out of some 70’s Italian classical rock opus. Mr. Rath continues to surprise with each further track, hinting at the likes of Bo Hansson, Henry-Skoff Torgue, Camel, or even Sensations Fix. There are some other solos recorded under pseudonyms like: Kolab, Peter D. Gulch in a very mysterious mood with the tape A DARK HOUR FOR HISTORY (Synkronos SYNK 013) [recorded with Canadian synthesist Steve Brenner, so not really a solo], and in contrast there’s the mysterious Synbion [Peter Gulch truly on his own] with CYBERNETIC DANCING (Synkronos 012), an ode to Kraftwerk and the more commercial synth music of latter-day Tangerine Dream or Mark Shreeve.
Most prolific, however, is Chuck Van Zyl, a dab hand with a sequencer and improvised synthesizer soloing. Like The Nightcrawlers, his music is highly derivative of Teutonic styles, but the accent on melodic content is much stronger, and he tends to concentrate on evolving works in the region of 15 to 20 minutes. The tape CALLISTO, that I reviewed back in Audion #14 (four years ago now) actually forms half of his new CD release CELESTIAL MECHANICS (issued by Centaur, the new label run by C&D Services’ Dave Shoesmith). With sequencers and melodies almost stolen from Klaus Schulze’s MIRAGE and Tangerine Dream circa RICOCHET to ENCORE and the early-80’s post TANGRAM era, it’s all a bit too familiar, really, but is well done, and I’m sure it’s bound to please many.
I gather that Art Cohen has worked live with either The Nightcrawlers or Xisle, but apart from that, he’s not an active member of any band, as far as I can gather. Primarily a guitarist, Art also works with electronics and various gadgetry. On REAL TIME (Synkronos SYNK 909), he explores the possibilites of the echo guitar, as pioneered by the likes of Gunter Schickert or Manuel Gottsching. Cohen’s approach, however, is much less complex, being performed entirely live as you hear it. Really, it’s quite a feat when you consider the layers of sound and multi-textured rhythmic patterns he builds, especially so when topped-off by a dazzling fuzzed solo. In contrast, WIREHEAD (Synkronos SYNK 014) is mostly composed of feedback delay and echo machine sounds, unusual and hypnotic, only being joined on the second side by a Gottsching-like guitar solo.
Recently, there was talk of various CD’s by artists on the Synkronos label. Of these, only the Chuck Van Zyl one has appeared. Hopefully, new offerings from The Nightcrawlers and Xisle are due soon.
Most (probably all) of the cassettes reviewed here, or listed below, are still available from Synkronos. Contact: Chuck Van Zyl, P.O. Box 22, Upper Darby, PA 19082, U.S.A. Or, for more information on The Nightcrawlers, commissions, bookings, etc., then contact: Peter D. Gulch, 1493 Greenwood Avenue, Camden, NJ 08103, U.S.A.
DISCOGRAPHY
The Nightcrawlers
CRYPTOSPHERE (MC) 1980
PLANETARY EXPEDITION (MC) 1980
THE FALLEN SPARROW (MC) 1980
HALLUCINATORY EXECUTIONS (MC) 1980
POLTERGEISTS (MC) 1981
SYNTHIMANIA (MC) 1981
SYSTEMA NATURAE (MC) 1981
HORS D’OEUVRES (MC) 1982
NARCOLEPSIS (MC) 1982
MIDWINTER DAYDREAM (MC) 1982
TANZWUT (MC) 1982
SHADOWLESS VEIL (MC) 1982
SUBLIMINAL SAILING (MC) 1983
FORBIDDEN MONASTERY (MC) 1983
SPRING HOLIDAY (MC) 1983
EVENING REPOSE (MC) 1983
TRANSLUMINANCE (MC) 1983
CRYSTAL LOOPS (MC) 1984
THE NIGHTCRAWLERS (LP,MC) 1984
2031 A.D. (MC) 1984
SPACE SHUTTLE (MC) 1984
OMBRA (MC) 1984
NIGHTWALK (MC) 1984
CYBERSUN 231 (MC) 1984
SPACEWALK (LP,MC) 1985
SPACE RITUAL AT ST. MARY’S (MC) 1985
THE LARGO TREE (MC) 1986
PARTICLE MIST (MC) 1986
ENERGY TRANSFER (MC) 1987
ALONE AFTER DARK (MC) 1987
SHADOWS OF LIGHT (LP: Synkronos 202) 1988
FLOATING PREMONITION (MC) 1989 [Peter Gulch solo]
SOMNILITY (MC) 1990 [Tom Gulch solo]
BARRIERS (2MC: Synkronos SYNK 019) 1991
Xisle
WINTER’S KING (MC: Xisle 03) 1985
NEXUS (MC: Xisle 05) 1986
THE PHANTOM ZONE (MC: Xisle 06) 1986
THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE (MC: Xisle 07) 1986
PROVING GROUND (MC: Xisle 08) 1987
THE INDEPENDENT SPACE PROGRAM (2MC: Xisle 10) 1988
NOVINS (MC: Xisle 11) 1988
JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS (MC: Xisle 12) 1988
PERCHANCE TO DREAM (MC: Synkronos SYNK 404) 1989
ETERNITY’S ENGINE (MC: Synkronos SYNK 505) 1989
AURAL EXPLORERS (MC: Synkronos SYNK 707) 1989
NOVINS II (MC: Synkronos SYNK 808) 1989
THE SPACE AGE (MC: Synkronos SYNK 011) 1990
THE SOUND MUSEUM (2MC: Synkronos SYNK 020) 1991
Chuck Van Zyl (most under the pseudonym: XYL)
RUNAWAY (MC: Xisle 01) 1985
NUCLEAR WINTER (MC: Xisle 02) 1985
SCANNER (MC: Xisle 04) 1986
STAR’S END (MC: Xisle 09) 1987
CALLISTO (MC: Synkronos SYNK 303) 1989
THE MOMENT OF TOTALITY (MC: Synkronos SYNK 010) 1990
CELESTIAL MECHANICS (CD: Centaur CENCD 003) 1993
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From Star’s End Chuck van Zyl promo packet 1994:
Interview for “Deep Listenings” with Chuck van Zyl
by Gianluigi Gasparetti, June 27th, 1994 (edited)
[NOTE: the section of this interview most related to The Nightcrawlers is indicated in a red font (like this). —Steven Feldman]
Let’s start with your beginnings, your favorite groups, your musical ideas, etc.
CVZ: I was born in 1958 and my parents were old. My Mother was 42 and my Father 49. There was always music in our house, old time music from their generation. It was on the radio, the television and the phonograph all the time. Mom loved to sing and Dad did, too, a bit, but he was better at playing his mandolin. He liked Jazz and Big Bands, she liked music with vocals. Eventually, I grew out of this influence, but I was left with an appreciation of melody, harmony, rhythm and timbre.
My record collection started with some classical music, War, Pink Floyd and on and on. I was into what is now referred to in the states as “classic rock.” I collected albums by all the big groups and listened very closely to them. In 1977, I started working at a student-run college radio station called WDCR. My shows started out featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd, Outlaws, Eagles, etc. Later, I moved on to yes, Genesis, Kansas, Styx, Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, ELP, etc. While I was at WDCR, I met people that told me about some groups I’d never heard of before: Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Jane, Be Bop Deluxe, Gong, Van Der Graff. Also, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Cluster, etc. These groups were rarely heard anywhere on the radio here. I wanted to learn more about them. I began going to obscure record shops and looking through their import bins. I found many wonderful albums by groups that only a few of my friends had ever heard of. One of my friends from WDCR told me to listen to another college radio station. The station was WXPN. I was told that their programs were full of the kind of music that I was looking for. It was difficult listening at first because the music that WXPN was playing was very strange to my ears. I’d never heard anything like it before. They were playing everything from John Cage to Heldon, Miles Davis to Philip Glass, Ash Ra Tempel to Faust, Vangelis to Art Zoyd, and more. The more I listened, the more I learned. I’ll never forget the day I was driving home from WDCR listening to WXPN on the radio in my car when “Stardancer” by Klaus Schulze began to come out of the speakers. It was the most exciting piece of music that I’d ever heard. Something clicked inside me. That moment changed my life. I’ve been totally fascinated with music and sound created by the synthesizer ever since.
Once I was hooked on Klaus Schulze, my course followed that of many other enthusiasts: Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Ash Ra Tempel, Kraftwerk, Jean Michel-Jarre, Heldon, Earthstar, Eno, Mark Shreeve, Neuronium, Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Michael Stearns, to name but a few. In early 1980, I became a radio host on WXPN and began learning even more while producing radio programs and working with the knowledgeable staff (among them, John Dilberto and Kimberly Hass, more recently of “Echoes”). I continue to work at WXPN and am still influenced by all the music that I am exposed to.
What do you think about today’s EM scene?
CVZ: Over the last few years, there has been an explosion of new EM being released on CD. It is an exciting time to be involved in EM. There are many new people on the scene with new ideas and new attitudes. New genres are being created. People from all walks of life, from all over the world are becoming involved. Many young people (teenagers) are producing their own kind of EM. The younger generation is being heard and influencing the established artists (and vice versa). It is a great time.
I know that you work as a DJ in a radio station; tell me something about your program.
CVZ: I am host of a radio program called “Star’s End.” The show can be heard on 88.5FM WXPN Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and on 90.5FM WKHS Worton, Maryland (WKHS reaches into the Baltimore, MD area) every Saturday night into Sunday morning from 1:00AM until 6:00AM. “Star’s End” has been on WXPN for around 18 years. I have been host since 1980. The purpose of the show is more than to just entertain the listener. The audience is invited leave their radios on in their bedrooms at a low volume throughout the night. The music that I present is very spacey, floating, soothing and relaxing. I try to include as many different types of music and genres as possible, yet keep within the quiet music format. A listener will hear: jazz, avant-garde, classical, ambient house, low intensity noise/industrial, new age, traditional international, world fusion and, of course, a wide variety of electronic artists. Some playlists from past “Star’s End” programs have been enclosed for you to get an idea of the scope of the show. Announcements are kept to a minimum, just often enough to let everyone know what stations they’re listening to and what selections were broadcast during the preceding hour.
The music of “Star’s End” has an effect on the listeners as they sleep. They can incorporate the music into their dreams. I often get calls from people who just awoke from a strange dream and want to tell me of the experience. Last year, I attended a seminar about “Music in Healing.” I was told by a graduate student that there is no research about what happens to people when they listen to spacemusic while they sleep and that when someone listens to “Star’s End” while in a sleep state, they are taking part in an uncontrolled experiment.
“Star’s End” is also appreciated by students up late studying, artists working on their craft, and people that must work overnight. But, the purpose of “Star’s End” is even more than just to relax stressed out people and perhaps give some listeners weird dreams. Another purpose is to permit people to experience music that is typically very difficult to gain access to on the normal mainstream radio stations. Listeners are exposed to music that is conceptually very different from what they are familiar with. Often, first time listeners will call in and remark that they are astonished that this music even exists, let alone that it is being broadcast on a radio station. This is a very important facet of “Star’s End.” I am proof of this. If I’d not heard Klaus Schulze on WXPN so many years ago, I would have never learned that there was an entire world of music alternative to the mainstream available and waiting for me to experience.
WXPN is what is known in the States as a non-profit radio station. This means that the station does not get funding from paid advertisements (as almost all of the other radio stations in the country do). The station gets a percentage of the operating budget from the listening audience by doing fundraisers a few times a year. As you can imagine, it is difficult to get listeners to pledge money when they know that they do not have to. No one can make them; there is no law. Many people feel that someone else (another, more generous listener) will take the responsibility. Over the years, “Star’s End” has always done very well during these station fundraisers. The listeners realize that the show and the station will no doubt cease to exist without their support. This is their incentive. Recently, I’ve changed my approach to fundraising on “Star’s End.” Rather than playing some much loved or rare music between pitches, I’ve been asking artists featured on the show to call in to be interviewed live on the air. This has been working out great. I’ve enclosed some cassettes with excerpts of interviews for you to listen to (Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Michael Stearns, Michael Garrison, Jeff Greinke, Jonn Serrie, Thom Brennan, John Dyson, Ian Boddy, Robert Fox and David Wright). The “Star’s End” audience appreciates the insightful look at the artists that they’ve become familiar with through the show. As for me, I feel that I get the same if not better results and can enjoy a break from the traditional form of fundraising; constant pitching . . .
When I first started at WXPN, back in 1980, there was a great electronic/new music scene in Philadelphia, fostered by the radio station. Now, all these years later, there is none to speak of. Recently, I’ve been attempting to revive the scene with some live concerts sponsored by “Star’s End.” The name “Star’s End Gathering” seems to fit. It is not only a way to hear live spacemusic, but also a way for all the “Star’s End” listeners, from all walks of life, to gather together and meet one another face to face. I’ve presented two gatherings so far and have been very pleased with the way that things have been progressing. At the first gathering, my group XISLE performed live. At the second, we had the good fortune of seeing Jeff Greinke (all the way from Seattle, Washington) in concert. I will be producing more “Gatherings” in the future.
As I said before, WXPN is a non-profit community radio station. I volunteer my time to the station to produce “Star’s End.” I do not get any pay (in fact, it usually costs me money). Producing “Star’s End” is a very rewarding experience. It is a great opportunity for me to meet like-minded individuals, and I enjoy bringing music to the audience, music that they usually cannot hear anywhere else. I do the show every week with the hope that it is making a difference to someone, whether it be a listener exposed to something that they’ve never heard of before, or an artist that is not sure if his or her music will ever be notice by anyone.
If you or anyone out else out there knows of any radio show that is anything like “Star’s End,” as I’ve described it, please let me know. I’d be very interested in getting in touch with the host and exchanging ideas.
What about your friendship and collaboration with the Gulch brothers?
CVZ: When I first started at WXPN, the station promoted live concerts by local electronic musicians. We had a great scene. Groups like: The Ghostwriters, The Atomic Thinkers, Aural Prism, Tangent, Paul Woznicki, Darren Kearns, and The Nightcrawlers performed live concerts on a regular basis. We played their tapes on the radio and conducted interviews with the groups to get people interested in the EM scene. I saw Tom and Peter Gulch, of The Nightcrawlers, at their concerts, but it wasn’t until they came to WXPN for an interview that we actually met. Dave Lunt (the third Nightcrawler) almost never came to the radio interviews because he was too shy. As the years passed, Peter, Tom, Dave and I became good friends. When there was a concert, I would stay afterwards to help load the truck. I always had many questions about music and especially about synthesizers. They encouraged me to buy a synthesizer a try my hand at programming it. If I did not have this influence, I may have never become involved with creating my own music. Tom, Peter and Dave were my mentors, advisors, tutors and inspiration. I bought a Korg MP-4 from a friend and, needless to say, ever after that, synthesizers and the mode of expression they offer me became my focus.
I first started playing live with Tom in 1985. We called our group “XISLE” (pronounced “exile”) and did several concerts of spacemusic anywhere we could. About a year later, Tom and I decided that we were still friends, but couldn’t work together anymore. I asked Peter if he was interested in joining D.A. Rath and me in XISLE. He said yes and the three of us have been doing live concerts together ever since. I’ve always liked Peter very much as a person and as a synthesist, but since we began working together in XISLE, I’ve come to learn a great deal more about him. Peter is a remarkable person. He is one of the few people that I can count on completely. Peter is strong willed and has a good heart. He is very enthusiastic about our music. It is amazing when XISLE plays together. It is more than mere improvisation. There are few words between us; somehow, we communicate through our synths using sound.
It is unfortunate that due to a physical ailment, Tom Gulch is no longer able to play with The Nightcrawlers. This is why they have not been releasing much music recently.
How did you reach Dave Shoesmith of C&D Services? Are you planning new releases with them in the future?
CVZ: As any underground musician will tell you, it is important that you get your music out to as many key people possible. When my tape, “Callisto,” was released, I sent out many promotional copies. One of the people that received a copy was Andy Garabaldi of Mike Lloyd Music in the U.K. Any liked the tape so much that he sold some for me through MLM and played it for his friend Dave Shoesmith of C&D Services. Dave liked it very much, too, but thought that more people would be interested in my music if it were out on CD. Dave wrote to me and explained the situation. Eventually, Dave offered to release “Callisto” and “The Moment of Totality” on one CD. For a time, it was to have been released on the Surreal to Real label, but finally, it worked out that Dave started his own “Centaur” label. The resulting release is titled “Celestial Mechanics.” There are many spacemusic enthusiasts that still enjoy the style of music I’m producing, but there are few E-Musicians doing it anymore. Dave is aware of this, and filled the niche by releasing my CD. The fact that I’m from the States is of little importance.
Dave is interested in a second VAN ZYL release on Centaur. I’ll be beginning work on this project soon.
What is the direction you’re going in now? Are you planning new sound explorations?
CVZ: I am influenced by many, many things: travel, astronomy, art, science fiction, cinema and obviously, all manner of music and sound. The spacemusic I realize in my studio allows me to express how I am feeling in a way that I have not been able to do using words. I want my music to take the listener from the real world to the world of their imagination, to a place gotten to only by listening to one of my recordings. As long as I am alive and able to live my life, I’ll be incorporating everything I experience into my music.
My next CD is a collaborative work with Peter Gulch entitled: “Regeneration Mode” (Synkronos). On this CD, we have crossed and incorporated many genres: low intensity industrial, new age, sequencer/pattern, spacemusic, ambient and one or two of our own design. This is the direction I am going in.
Please list your musical equipment.
CVZ: It doesn’t matter how much equipment one has. The only things that matter are ideas . . .
Korg: Wavestation A/D, EX-8000, MP-4, SQD-1
Oberheim: Xpander, Matrix 6, Matrix 6R
Roland: MKS-80, CSQ-100, SVC-350
Alesis: HR16, MT8, Midiverb III, Microverb
Ensoniq: EPS 16 Plus Turbo, DP4
DigiTech 7.6 Time Machine
Tascam: 122, DA30, M34
Lexicon: LXP-5, ALEX
Mackie: 1604, 1202
Yamaha TX81Z
Kawai K4R
MXR 1500
JBL 4408
Hafler XL280
What about your live activity?
CVZ: Here is a list of all the live concerts I’ve performed with XISLE:
March 8, 1986: The Creative Underground, New Brunswick, NJ (visuals by Wave)
March 21, 1986: The Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
July 3rd, 1986: WXPN Studio, Philadelphia, PA (live on the air)
July 12, 1986: The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA (with full blown light show by Wave)
December 6, 1986: The Asbury Methodist Church, Philadelphia, PA (XISLE opened for The Nightcrawlers, with 250 attending)
March 20, 1987: The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA (the 6 member XISLE)
July 3, 1987: WXPN Studio, Philadelphia, PA (solo live on the air)
December 5, 1987: Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ (XISLE opened for Jesse Clark)
January 22, 1988: Delaware County Community College, Marple, PA (w/big TV computer graphics)
July 23, 1987: The Novins Planetarium, Tom’s River, NJ (under the dome with full visual effects)
October 15, 1987: New Directions, Doylestown, PA (with full blown light show by Wave)
October 20, 1987: The Tabernacle, Philadelphia, PA (XISLE opened for The Nightcrawlers)
March 31, 1987: Middlesex County College, Edison, NJ (with full blown light show by Wave)
May 6, 1989: The Tabernacle, Philadelphia, PA
April 7, 1990: The Open Space Gallery, Allentown, PA (Arteck opened)
October 14, 1990: The Tabernacle, Philadelphia, PA (Arteck opened)
November 18, 1989: The Novins Planetarium, Tom’s River, NJ (under the dome with full visual effects)
October 13, 1990: Community Education Center, Philadelphia, PA (full blown slide show, w/ Art & Jack Hurwitz)
November 9, 1990: Small Computer And The Arts Network Symposium, Philadelphia, PA (w/ computer graphics)
May 5, 1991: Middlesex County College, Edison, NJ (we drove 95 miles each way, 2 people showed up)
November 15, 1991: SCAN Symposium, Philadelphia, PA
May 9, 1992: The Star’s End Gathering, Philadelphia, PA (audience of radio show listeners)
October 3, 1992: The Novins Planetarium, Tom’s River, NJ (under the dome with full visual effects)
November 7, 1992: SCAN Symposium, Philadelphia, PA (TV wall with computer generated graphics)
We really like playing live. It is great to see the audience reactions. Often, a performance unattainable in a studio can be drawn from us. It is always a challenge.
What are the main differences between electronic music in the 70’s and in the 90’s?
CVZ: There are many differences, but the most obvious difference to me is the number of people putting out electronic music. When the genre was first being born, only a select few had access to the equipment necessary to make EM and the resources to release it for public consumption. These pioneers made a huge impact on the world of music. They wer exploring uncharted territories. Few prior to this had the means that a synthesizer offers to create the sounds and timbres that were then being experimented with. The world had not ever known anything like it before. In the 90’s, we see many more artists making EM partly because EM is now taken for granted (it’s everywhere and almost everyone knows what it is, on some level) but also because, over the years, the technology has become cheaper and at the same time more powerful. Technology is an important factor in EM. The more complex and versatile the equipment becomes, the wider the range of artistic expression. In one sense, the genre is driven by technology, but not totally. The people using the synthesizers are the most vital part. We are using the technology as a means of expression. I am glad to see that so many people are now able to create music. Without this technology, we would be silent, unable to communicate.
Tell me something about the artistic evolution of XISLE and XYL.
CVZ: The music that I now produce grew out of an increasing desire to find some way to better express myself. I’ve always had various hobbies and interests, and they are rewarding in their own way, but I cannot remember ever feeling the same kind of emotion that can come from music, whether as a listener or as a maker. For me, making music and making money are two mutually exclusive ideas. Financial gain does not motivate me. Nor do I consider myself a musician; I am a synthesist. The primary reason I make music is because I have to; I cannot not do it. It is my voice. It is the way I express feelings about my perception of reality. Those strange spacey sounds from my music, that unsettling tonal quality of my compositions — you’re hearing them, but I’m feeling them.
Performing live is a challenging experience; anything can go physically wrong: crashing synths, bad cables, burned out amps, blown speakers, 60 cycle hum, power outages, blown fuses, rowdy neighbors, heat prostration, getting locked out of a gig, breaking the window to get in, thievery, personnel problems, going “in the red” (losing money) and on and on. Besides all that, the challenge for me is this; when I play live, I lay it all on the line. It is a very vulnerable position. My music is very personal. I want the audience to be absorbed (or at least interested) in what I’m doing. I want to provide each audience member with their own unique experience. Few people have the opportunity to attend the kind of spacemusic concerts that I give with XISLE. Reactions vary. Some people are amazed, others asleep and others bored, but they all leave with something to ponder.
It seems that in this age dominated by electronics, anyone can sit and play good music; I know a lot of good musicians with no classical training. What do you think about this situation?
CVZ: I think that any person has the right to try and make music, whether using a truckload of electronic gear or a penny whistle. Yes, it is true that anyone with some money can buy a few synths, learn the basics and release their own CD. I’ve heard my share of uninspired work from these kind of people. But hopefully, serious artists will use the medium as a genuine means of expression. Since the technology is so readily available to all kinds of different people, we are now witnessing talented new artists emerging from their long silence.
When a person first gets involved with making their own EM, often they do not take the time to really learn what their instrument is fully capable of. It is a fact that most synth owners do not even bother to learn how to program their own sounds. For me, this is what synthesis is all about: revealing new timbres, not just producing melody, harmony and rhythm. The synths of today are sonically capable of so much, yet many musicians seem satisfied to use the presets that have been provided to them by the factory. I sometimes use factory presets in my compositions (usually modified in some way), but I prefer creating my own patches and samples. I think that this is the whole reason to own a synthesizer or a sampler.
In the future, I’m sure that more and more people will continue to try their hand at EM. With new people will come new (and hopefully interesting) ideas. I look forward to all the new contributions to the field.
Your future projects.
CVZ: With regard to the radio show, “Star’s End,” I’m making it available (on tape) to other radio stations. Interested parties should please contact me. There are many more E-Musicians that I want to interview for the show, and I’ll continue to produce the “Star’s End Gatherings,” too. I’m also beginning to bring the music of “Star’s End” to area clubs. With regard to my music, “Regeneration Mode” should be released soon on Synkronos. After that, Peter and I will work on our second CD, “Stardust,” also on Synkronos.
As far as performing live with XISLE goes, I’m planning to play at the next “Star’s End Gathering” sometime this Fall. I hope that in 1995 we’ll be able to play at one of the festivals overseas (EMMA, KLEM Dag, etc.).
And of course, I intend to continue to experience my life here on Earth and relay my impressions to the rest of you through my music. Thanks for listening . . .
From Sonic Curiosity:
Spacewalking with the Nightcrawlers
During the 1980s, the Nightcrawlers were definitely the most prolific American band following the muse of the Berlin School of electronics long before it was fashionable.
The band was also a force to be reckoned with among the indie cassette culture of the Eighties, releasing numerous cassette tapes of their ambient electronics and selling them through mail order and at their many concerts.
As the Nightcrawlers, Peter Gulch, Tom Gulch, and Dave Lunt applied themselves with a fervor to creating a considerable amount of memorable electronic music (specifically in the lateSeventies Tangerine Dream style).
After releasing over forty cassette tapes and three albums, the Nightcrawlers called it quits in the earlyNineties.
INTERVIEW WITH PETER GULCH
Q: As with many electronic ensembles, there was no leader in the Nightcrawlers. The driving force was a gestalt mind, right?
PETER GULCH: Yes, pretty much so. We had three people with similar ideals and feelings about the music. When we jammed and came up with a “piece”, if you will, it certainly was from the melding of three people’s feelings. The music sort of formed itself from these feelings. I think it also kept us from getting into conflicts about who was to do what. We jammed and what happened, happened. It was quite magical at times. As far as the business side of the band, we had a fairly democratic method of dealing with things, but in the end, I pretty much was designated as the final decision maker. I dealt with the lawyers and copyright stuff.
Q: With a second album title of “Spacewalk”, the band was clearly aware of the bond between electronic music and outer space. Care to discuss the connections?
PETER GULCH: I believe that the connection came from two of the members who were really into astronomy and science. Way before the musicmaking started, there was real interest in space exploration, science fiction, and such. Electonic music (at least certain forms of it) allowed one to create aural sculptures that clearly were dependent on the cerebral reciprocity between wave and being and whatever inherent formulations that each carries. Space seemed to generate the imagery evoked by this relationship. I suppose that these connections might be different for those of different backgrounds and predispositions. For us, though, the type of music we were doing definitely evoked images of space because they were already there. Rather than go off into too much philosophical discussion on this, I hope you get the idea. What is very interesting, however, is that so many other individuals formed the same types of connections.
Q: With the Nightcrawlers gone, have you been persuing any sonic endeavors?
PETER GULCH: The Nightcrawlers disappeared in 1991. Since that time I was involved with several other Emusic undertakings. I worked with Chuck van Zyl on a really excellent space music album entitled “Regeneration Mode”. This album received universal acclaim as being one of best space albums ever produced. I have worked until just recently with Chuck’s new band (The Ministry of Inside Things) and did many, many concerts in the
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area. I am going to try to put out either a limited edition box set CDR of some of my own personal music that has never been published or released, or it might even appear on the Manikin Record label in Germany. I don’t have an exact timetable in mind just yet. But it will probably be sometime in 2002. I have about 3 hours worth of music that I created during the period 1991 to 1997. As you might imagine, some of the music is definitely “Nightcrawlerish”, while a lot is my own explorations into different realms. I think that when this is released, folks will get a whole different perspective on my side. I am currently in the process of editing the material and getting it ready for production.
Q: What was the last scientific discovery that made you go “Wow!”?
PETER GULCH: I have always been keen on science ever since I was a little kid. It pretty much drove my educational leanings with degrees in mathematics and chemistry. I still like to keep up with the latest happenings in science. If I were to pick one of the last discoveries that made me go “wow”, I would have to give a nod to quantum computing. This is a really exciting field. It’s implications are far reaching for the future.
THE NIGHTCRAWLERS: Traveling Backwards (double CD on Manikin Records) (As circumstances have it, Manikin Records is sold out of copies of this release. Eurock still has some, though.)
In 1997 the notable German electronic music label, Manikin Records, compiled all three Nightcrawlers’ albums (“Nightcrawlers”, “Spacewalk”, and “Shadows of Light”) together for a double CD release. Finally, the many who had heard about this legendary obscure but talented band could now bask in their rediscovered sonic brilliance.
Initially the electronics are ethereal, setting a sonic stage of ambience and cosmic mystery with whispering tonalities and softly churning gears. Cycles of sequenced sounds emerge from these diffusive vapors, establishing a melodic presence which guides the music into even more astral territory.
Soon, keyboard chords enter the mix, enhancing the spaciness with delicate loops and heavenly notes. These elements combine with extremely harmonious results. The softer tones flourish, unfolding into long passages which evolve through the sedate accretion of textures; while the more overt riffs cavort with languid delight. Imagine a stratosphere of sound frequented by riffs in flight, some piercing the air in descent, others flowing like liquid clouds dedicated to lofty existence.
Percussives are rare in the Nightcrawlers’ music. When Eperc does appear, it is subdued and functions as an equal participant, not as a guiding force. More often than not, rhythms are generated by the use of nonpercussive sounds.
Once these delicate soundscapes are established as the sonic foundation, the music becomes more active with smooth riffs that squeal like cheerful cybernetic children and squirm like minnows in a crystalclear pool. Maintaining a subdued tempo, the music seethes with restrained power as the drifting melodies spill out like a waterfall of sparkling champagne.
Dreamy is the emphasis with this melodic tuneage. These pieces create passive moods, which are then peppered with lively riffs and swooping electronic sighs. Although this music explores a very ambient sentiment, there are passages that growl with a softly dramatic nature, capturing the awe of sunrise creeping past a planetary penumbra.
This stuff is an excellent soundtrack for your next spacewalk. If you cannot make it out into space, the Nightcrawlers can take you there with the invigorated calm of their electronic music.
All three albums are featured in their entirety on this double CD, a total of 146 minutes of electronic entertainment.
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THE NIGHTCRAWLERS: Barriers (double cassette tape on Synkronos Music)
Most Nightcrawlers cassette releases are highly coveted collectors items, and this 1991 double cassette (their final release) is still available from the band. On it you will find nearly two hours of riveting ambient electronic music.
Rich with multilayered keyboards, the music drifts with fluid quality. Heavenly synthesizers swoon and sweep without percussive accompaniment. Coherent riffs and sustained tonalities conspire to produce lush soundscapes that are alive with melody and sparkling with energy. Quirky sounds share the air with recognizable keyboard chords to create surging waves of pleasant tuneage.
These melodies are not hyper. Unfolding with a relaxed pace and reverent grandeur, the music is unhurried, yet not without a sense of softly urgent energy.
VAN ZYL/GULCH/RATH: The Sound Museum (CD on Groove Unlimited)
Originally released in 1991 as a double cassette tape (by Xisle), this music has finally seen CD release in 2001, a decade after its creation by Chuck van Zyl, Peter Gulch, and D. Andrew Rath.
With a flurry of flutish keyboards, sinuous bass tones and muted Eperc, the music on this 75 minute CD possesses immediate appeal. Layers of sequenced electronics blend to form a glistening backdrop for the more forceful riffs that dominate the flow. Athough hardly overt, the tuneage is energetic and compelling. The use of slowburn technique is excellently tempered with vivacious passages that steal the listener’s breath with their awesome grandeur.
The melodies are sultry and quite engaging.
There are four tracks on this release, with each piece clocking in at nearly twenty minutes of shimmering sonic entertainment.
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 2:41 am RIP: Tom Gulch Reply with quoteBack to top
Back in the mid-seventies there were three musicians that played analogue synthesizers in the US that were rated as one of the best Tangerine Dream clone bands at the time.
They were The Nightcrawlers with Dave Lunt, Peter Gulch and his brother Tom and three of their albums were released as a 2CD set by Manikin Records.
I just learned that Tom Gulch had a knee replacement that developed into an infection. Unable to walk he had to use a wheelchair to get around. One day he happened to be reaching for something when the chair flipped over and his head slammed into a table or the ground killing him instantly.
I know Dave real well. We even recorded two albums together. The Gulch brothers were only at my studio twice together and Peter a couple more times alone.
We are losing a lot of musicians that influenced us in our lives what seems like every other day.
The great thing about these musicians is their music will live forever.
_________________
Steve Siers
The Qrazy Synth Man