Guitarist Markus Reuter shows various directions for the use of his touch guitar. Hang on tight!
On Oculus, Reuter also plays “soundscapes” and keyboards along with King Crimson alumnus David Cross/key-vi, Mark Wingfield/eg, Robert Rich/textures, Asaf Sirkis/dr and Fabio Trentini/b. You get some late-period Crimson tones on the dark fusiony “Nothing Is Sacred” while spacious bass and drumming form a rich atmosphere on “The Occult”. Guitar and effects drift along on “Bubble Bubble Bubble Bath” and harpsichord-ish tones cast a long shadow on “Solve et Coagula”. Bible black with stars.
Sun Trance is an album long opus that was recorded on it’s premier of May 23, 2017 in Mannheim Germany. The band includes two vibe players, two glockenspielists , two shakers, a bass clarinetist, electric bassist and guitarist, drummer and synth player. When comes across is a sound very similar to Pat Metheny’s Orchestron albums of a few years ago, grandiose, swinging, percussive with a hint of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells melding optimistic world music and swinging acoustic fusion. A rich soundtrack begging for an animated film.
There are only four tunes on Shapeshifters, which has Reuter with guitarist/bassist Tim Motzer and drummer and metalist (?) Kenny Grottowski. You can hear the expanse of the dark side of the moon on the spacey “Dark Sparks” and eerie fuzz tones sound like a lunar landing on “Transmutation”. Loose percussion and guitar tapped messages lurk on “Cyphers” and feedback distorts the radio transmission on “Burns to Aether”. Better order some di-lithium crystals, Captain!