Artist:Max Richter
Album: Memoryhouse
Year: 2002
Genre:Neoclassical,Minimal
Country:Germany,United Kingdom
Blending classical, electronic and rock influences into a style he calls “post-Classical,” composer/programmer Max Richter ignores boundaries in favor of haunting, strangely familiar sounds. Born in Germany in the mid-‘60s, Richter and his family moved to the UK when he was still a little boy; by his early teens, he was listening to the canon of classical music as well as modern composers, including Philip Glass, whose sound was a major influence on Richter. The Clash, The Beatles and Pink Floyd were also important, along with the early electronic music scene; inspired by artists such as Kraftwerk, Richter built his own analogue instruments.Richter’s own work evolved from the Iannis Xenakis-inspired music of his early days into something that included his electronic and pop influences: 2003’s Memoryhouse introduced his mix of modern composition, electronica and field recordings.
The poetic without words...A Requiem for the 20th Century
*****Reviews*****
"This is an album that starts from its cover. A railway line and station somewhere in Europe. Title "The Memory House." Black and white, bleak. My mother came from Austria. She lived under the occupation of the Russians and the first track invokes this bleakness rain and all. The poem, Russian? Moving, raising the emotions, what is she saying? What journey is the composer taking us on? So many unanswered questions.
This beautiful album became personal very quickly with its silky changing moods. The music is thought provoking. Be ready to grit your teeth. Let the music take you anywhere you want with its startling nuances. Listen for the Mahler drum! and when the journey is over take time to look at the photograph once more. A memory house; a museum for conversation. Truely some great music from Max Richter."(PETER JAMES "Snapperfisch")
"This album defies categorisation. It breaks down the barriers between genres and should simply be classified as great music. In this respect Max Richter should be considered along side the likes of Nitin Sawhney. There are moments in this album where I found myself moved to tears as in the extraordinary track Sarajevo which builds and builds until the full tragedy of that war torn city seemed to leap out and enfold me. Some tracks wash over you like a refreshing stream a bit like the best Cafe Del Mar chill out albums and then there's the kind of stuff that you might find in a tense pacy thriller; film makers would die for it.
Memoryhouse comes from the soul, and it certainly stirs the soul when you listen to it. The more you play it the deeper it seems to go. It's my favourite new album and well worth buying."(D Scheinmann)
