Been giving Tietchens a lot of attention recently. I think this thread has mostly covered all the essentials- Seuchengebiete was mentioned a few times and is my pick, together with Sechengebeite 2 and 3, possibly the darkest and droningest of all his efforts (though perhaps Tietchens himself would reject such descriptors).Sechengebeite 2 (1992) could be the preeminent though it's hard to choose favorites. Just get them all. To complete the picture you'd also need to grab the "Hydrophonie" appearing on the 1992 split-collab with Vidna Obmana and the Formen Letzter Hausmusik collection from 1984. There may be a couple comp tracks too. There was word some years back of more "Hydrophonie" coming out, but I don't know what came of that.
I do seem to gravitate toward the more droning efforts, which may be an attempt to escape the colder sensations the more open-ended/experimental compositions often leave in me. Another source of escape, perhaps even for Tietchens himself, is the collabs. The mentioned split-collab with Vidna Obmana is a good example, as is their '99 collab Motives For Recycling. The Shifts Recycling (2002) is also quite great, on which Tietchens and Obmana each spend a whole disc remixing The Shifts (Frans de Waard) source material, and on which Tietchens emerges the winner- perhaps ironically so, given the above averred, as it is the studied, patient, explorations of the material, the more subtle textures, that serve to elevate above that of mere "droning efforts".
Didn't so much like the collabs with Arcane Device, though I am a big AD fan. About the only one that has really stood up is Flussdichte, credited to Tietchens and David Lee Myers. Here subtle bass frequencies float in a bit more heft, lending the pieces a hushed and stately, atmosphere, a good and much appreciated remove from the experimentalism of their other combined efforts.
Five Manifestoes, with PBK, is perhaps my favorite of all the collab work, though it probably helps that I am a huge PBK fan. A fine set of mostly sedate, if occasionally loud, darkened textural investigations. Almost exactly what I would have imagined from these guys.
Tietchens has released a veritable shitload of work together with his old pal Okko Bekker, but to my ear the best is the straight-ahead droning meisterwerk of Stockholmer Totentanz. This comes off as a kind of mix-master reworking several classics, including Die Nacht Aus Blei. Among his most "classically" ambient perhaps, up there with the mentioned Burning The Watching Bride and almost approaching the dense evocative meanderings of Dammerattacke.
Perhaps the preeminent mix-meisterwerk is Raum 318, which at times sounds like darkambient re-presentation of Stupor Mundi, among perhaps others. Quite active and busy, even muscular by Tietchens standards, but never really losing focus, a legit industrial-grade classic.
I find myself returning for more and more of the Menge series, which has against initial expectations really grown on me. I must say I usually have to be in the right, slightly distracted, state of mind. Far from an early morning blast of harshness to get the day going, rather something that requires a good amount of patience to absorb. I will say there are moments when the shit sounds exactly like someone dicking around and it takes hella patience not to skip. One solution is to crank this shit to the nth. Obviously far from as intended, and in truth not my preferred listening mode, but it's hard under such circumstances not to appreciate the extreme and angular dynamics/frequencies ripping through the decidedly abused system. Also good fodder for fm-wanking; though I suppose this depends on how "hands on" you like your Menge.
Fans of the Menge series might also wish to check out the two collabs with Richard Chartier, Fabrication and Fabrication 2. Quiet, understated, never suggestive of someone dicking around, the sort of thing I might enjoy in between extended sessions of harsh blasting. Both cover quite the wide range of non-obstrusive, mellowed-out, quietly droning movements, very well put together, very much inviting of serious, concentrated, listening.
Yet another collab, yet again with a favored artist: Repetitive Movement, with Achim Wollscheid. Well, here Tietchens is paired with a personal industrial-experimental hero so I would be quite disappointed if the shit were anything short of good. So, it's good, if as the title would suggest, quite minimal in scope. Definite periods toward the end where I'm conscious of trying hard to follow a bunch of electro-acoustic dicking around, but the first fifty or so minutes are quite absorbing, cold, gray, buzzing n droning atmospheres.
The final word would have to be the mentioned Kontakt Der Junglinge, a mostly live project series with Thomas Koner. Again, the choice of collab mate is the clincher: practically everything Koner touches is genius, full stop. I'm frankly amazed that the project has gone on as long as it has. Figured the 1999 debut a one-off, but there are now four full releases from the live series and, surprisingly, a recent studio release (2014). I would say the stronger influence on the sound is Koner, insofar as every release is anchored in the deep and ominous bass tones which pretty much define Koner. Intrestingly, this collab moves more freely into near industrial-strength textures, at moments incorporating what sound like site recordings at a factory, or possibly loading dock. Interesting for me anyway, as Koner has often professed a love for heavy duty machine sounds, but this love is not necessarily in evidence in his solo recordings, even his recent The Futurist Manifesto- though of course if you crank the shit, any of the shit, through a proper system it often feels as though the building is about to shaken off its foundations. With Tietchens in the mix we often move into satisfyingly grim, grainy, textures, a most consistent and satisfying project.
Perhaps to sneak in a last note on the ultimate collab: Grav, with PGR and Merzbow. Truly among the great industrial-strength classics, this has stood the test of time, and ranks among my favorite recordings of all three artists! Dense, heavy, occasionally fairly harsh metal-scraping n whining factory machinations, ending with extended, minimal, gray-walled, PGR furnace fucker. I occasionally imagine this is how tibetan ritual music would sound if the monks were performing their rendition of Merzy's Music For Bondage with scrap metal in an abandoned warehouse, or deep and ancient cave dwelling. The funny moment for me is just how dominant a particular Tietchens track- "Fron" from Stupor Mundi- stands in the mix, really lending the final outcome, as the pace hets up, a properly dramatic pitch.
