Meeting with Manuel
– by Paul Davies
Most people hold a recollection of the first time they heard Manuel Göttsching’s ‘E2-E4’ album. It has a gentle, benign quality that you can’t help but take notice of whilst listening to it. It pulls you in. And, similar to Reich’s ‘Music for 18 Musicians’ or Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’, it is a unique composition that clocks in at almost one hour – and leaves you wanting more. Like those albums, ‘E2-E4’ follows the standard western music convention of resolving its opening statement, i.e. Introduction – Middle section – Conclusion, but soon establishes that it has little intention of progressing any harmony or melody. Rather, it repeats a very simple modulated synth riff ad infinitum. By the time it’s got its groove on, ‘E2-E4’ has set up the ideal conditions to induce a soft trance-like state. No wonder it was so popular with Manhattan’s nascent after-hours clubbing community in the mid-80’s. The album title refers to the guitar’s low string, tuned to E2; its high string to E4. Want more pun? That’s in the cover art. E2 to E4 is the most popular opening sequence in a game of chess.
In 2010, I was fortunate to meet with Manuel and his film documentarist wife, Ilona Ziok in Berlin. They graciously invited me to dinner and, acting like alternative city guides, pointed out Bowie’s apartment when he was recording “Low”. Over the next two and a half hours, we ate at their favourite Italian restaurant whilst Manuel went through his entire archive of recordings in chronological order. He and Ilona provided social and political commentary, providing context to the music and Germany during the post-war years. In particular to this album was the recollection when he played the demo tape to Richard Branson, original founder of Virgin records, in the early 80’s. Göttsching was concluding an album deal with the label at the time. It was open-ended and he could have continued with this recording, but for the fact that record labels were changing dramatically, taking on more commercial acts. Branson was cradling a new born baby in his arms as the music played. “Manuel, this is great music,” he remarked. “You could make a fortune with this.”
Perhaps that was all the validation he needed. He decided to keep the music with him for the time being. ‘E2-E4’ was eventually released in 1984. It had been sitting in the studio vaults, along with many more recordings from Studio Roma. When a friend announced he was setting up a new label for experimental music, Göttsching offered him ‘E2-E4’. I wonder how many of the initial pressings made their way over to the US. It was a few years later when friends started to tell Manuel that some of New York’s cutting edge DJs were playing it at the end of very long sessions. In Germany, it had been largely ignored, he recalled.
Ironic that given today, there are German online forums declaring that ‘E2-E4’ is as important as Beethoven’s ‘Ninth Symphony’, in terms of musical development. They have dubbed him ‘Manuel van Beethoven’.
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