Trance Groove - Meant To Be Like This

Who or what is "Trance Groove"? The inevitably intensive experience of listening to the CD "Meant To Be Like This" reveals profound tabla beats and similarly high-dosed rhythmic excesses, broad bass lines and fat brass lines as well as a lot of scratch breaks and trumpet solos, a merciless guitar and Gallic chants. This is sometimes reminiscent of Hendrix in a remix and time and again of Can. It is not only damned catchy to the ears, but also neatly analogous. It works both in the blazing morning sun, at a relaxed afternoon tea and during motorway drives at night. The music casts its spell over the listener, stimulates and soothes, inspires to make all kinds of mental and physical leaps. Liveliness triumphes over boredom. This is exactly or almost exactly the feel one wants to get when hearing "Trance Groove".

The band "Trance Groove" was founded almost exactly ten years ago by the drummer and percussionist Stefan Krachten who cites Reebop and Jaki Liebezeit as drumming influences and heroes of the 'magic beat'. This happened at a concert at the 'Stollwerk' in Cologne for which Krachten won Dal Martino (Nighthawks, Phoenix, among others) as production partner and bassist. Among the other founding members was Helmut Zerlett who can be seen on TV in Germany as band leader of the show band in the 'Harald Schmidt Show'. As a keyboarder, he has worked with numerous prominent figures such as Jaki Liebezeit from Can, Julian Dawson, Fredy Studer and many more, and, as second half of the duo "Unknown Cases" with Stefan Krachten, was the trendsetter for ethno dance-floor music with the hit "Masimbabele". The illustrious ensemble is completed by Jürgen Dahmen (piano, also Propaganda, Montana Blue), Reiner Winterschladen (trumpet, today member of the NDR Bigband and Nighthawks) and DJ Heli (also working with Jean Park and Klaus Doldinger). The idea was and is to make new music in a moment on the basis of loops – spontaneously improvised, hazardously composed, 'without a net or a false bottom'. Bass and percussion form the core upon which they play what they like. The only rules are that no one plays too much but that everyone always listens to the others. (The name of the ensemble does not refer to technological mania but rather to the album 'Trance' by their legendary friend and colleague Reebop Kwaku Baah.) Even today "Trance Groove" is, for good reasons, a kind of 'mother ship' for a lot of 'daugher boats' such as "Nighthawks", "Bassculture" and of course "Trance Club" which functions not only as a monthly club at the 'Camouflage' in Cologne but also as a band.

"Meant To Be Like This" is the fateful title of the fifth "Trance Groove" album, following consistently and at the same high standard the live recording of the later overdubbed debut album "Solid Gold Easy Action" (1994), the Indie Grammy-nominated second album "Paramount" (1996), the remix album "Musique Legere" (1999), the US college chart success "Driving South" (2000) and the well-heard "Replay' of Nico's 'Im Reich der Träume" (2000). Recorded in Düsseldorf with (almost) the original ensemble, then decoded and decorated with a lot of jointly improvised stuff at the 'Mad Mix' studio of the Berlin musician Manfred Praeker of 'Spliff' now living 'in Exile' in Portugal, and finally carefully mixed and fabulously mastered in Düsseldorf, this album shows what 'Trance Groove' is meant to be.

In the best tradition of Can, the music is found and invented in a moment. Though their own loops form the basis, these are not just accompanied by 'songs' which have been learned by heart, but the band members always play spontaneously and straight away. In addition, there is much experimenting, ranging from exotic rhythms to exotic sounds (Helmut Zerlett even plays omnichord and waterphone on this album!).

This sound structure is kept together by a basic instrumental and musical idea, namely the motto 'Playing instead of programming'. The most difficult decision in the mixing process is: What is left out where? In plain language, that means that the ten sound episodes of "Meant To Be Like This" with all their inspired and improvised frankness never lose the thread. Framed by the intro 'Reponse' the driving beat of which, fattened by Fender Rhodes, Hammond and bass, supports a stunning trumpet and the singing of Elfie-Esther Seitz (Carambolage), and the outro 'Changez' which takes the listener, floatingly, into the night with the same instrumental means, there are funk pieces like 'Champagne', the housy Bonanza beats of 'Goldfinger', Latin excursions à la 'Jean Gabin' and even a studio-improvised tribute to the Can guitarrist 'M. Karoli' who died in 2001. This certainly is 'dance-floor of the highest quality', 'doubtlessly an exceptional phenomenon in the current music scene', 'just the ticket for a trip to cyber-funsville' and, in any case, 'highly recommended', as critics between here and Harlem have said of its predecessors again and again. But it is above all the pleasure of listening to a collective letting-go, to a natural instantaneous recording, to tone colours and sound sculptures which stimulate or relax, as required. 'Trance Groove' certainly and Whole-heartedly is "Meant To Be Like This".