Camera

Phantom Of Liberty

Image of Camera - Phantom Of Liberty
Record Label
Bureau B

About this item

The beat hammers like the pulse of a pair of lovers on the run from a gang of racist thugs - the sound is manic, but from it speaks a seemingly insurmountable inner strength. This arch of tension is home to Camera. The Berlin band is rightly compared with icons of seventies Krautrock such as Neu! and La Düsseldorf, with a tight and driving sound, yet they are still somehow unpredictable. Hardly any other band understands how to mutate tiny musical nuances into volcanic eruptions like they do. Camera is a motor running at full throttle, where an explosion could occur at any second. Once you have embarked on this crazy journey, you will be fascinated by the alternating current somewhere between a flash flood and roller coaster running off the rails. The cascades of sound convey a blurry image of a boundless desire to revolt, with each blink of an eye threatening to end in purgatory, yet it is damned near indestructible.

Michael Drummer is the ethereal Indian paleface who pummels his drums at every show as if we're in the midst of a 17th Century incarnational ritual. In Steffen Kahles, who hails from the world of film music, he has found the musical partner he needed to enrich the tribal kraut beat with diverse motifs and bold sounds. On the third Camera album "Phantom of Liberty", we hear the clever use of playful sounds such as synths that beam us back into the Commodore 64 computer games of 1984; or slightly cranky keyboard pads, as if created by deliberately manipulating the speed of an old tape machine. With "Phantom of Liberty" Camera show that they have become more mature and complex without losing any of their tremendous energy.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This third album from Berlin trio Camera continues along a similar, if slightly more meandering, Kraut-rock path as their previous releases, a path already well trodden by the likes of Neu! and La Düsseldorf. The scope of their sound has expanded this time around though, and along with the pummelling drums and motorik rhythms we expect, there are a whole host of keyboard experiments going on: fluid synth washes, spacey swooshes, bleeps and squiggles. At times it sounds like they're soundtracking an 80s computer game, and at others the eerie electronics would be the perfect backdrop to a sci-fi movie. They've definitely upped their game on this album.

TRACK LISTING

1. Affenfaust
2. Fröhlichkeit
3. Festus
4. Nevernine
5. Ildefons
6. Reindenken / Raus
7. Tjamahal
8. Tribal Mango

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