Dieter Moebius: Aspirin – US – CD [2023]

1. Aspirin
2. C9H804
3. Synthetic
4. Spiraea
5. Providence
6. Muffler C

We all suspect that art is the way to immortality and what better example can be made than the phenomenon of the posthumous album? Though we lost Dieter Moebius in 2015, there is music still to reach our ears years later. The origins of “Aspirin” date back to late 2005, when Moebius was visiting musician Tim Story in Ohio and gave him a minidisc of some current material he was interested to share. Neither Story nor Moebius gave much thought to this material at the time; there were many projects vying for their attention, but in the wake of Moebius’ demise eight years ago, such transmissions have an increased value. And now the album entitled “Aspirin” is out today on Curious Music.

With a gong-like synth heralding the album and title track, we heard glitchy synths begin first as noise before resolving their tempos into a jaunty, syncopated rhythm constructed out of bleating synth loops that eventually attained a vague Ragtime feel! The sense of playfulness was palpable, and the random wave interjections gave the track a feel of the cadences of speech while remaining completely abstract. The juxtaposition of wildly divergent textures here showed portions of the loops dropping in and out of the mix which had strong nods to Dub technique.

The mood darkened for the industrial feel of “C9H804.” Suggestive of a factory floor with grinding synths and pneumatic hisses [a favorite of mine] adding filigree over rhythm loops that sounded like a metal stamper methodically issuing thousands of steel widgets. While the vibe was still a bit playful in the voicings given to the synths, there was a relentless quality here that was leavened by the breakdown in the coda that saw the machines fade away as bird calls filled the air.

The white noise “hi-hat” rhythm of “Synthetic” accompanied the rubbery synth leads with the synth patches at their goofiest. The buildup of the patches created a roiling, chaotic sound that kept moving forward strictly due to the unflagging discipline of the rhythm. Until the coda where it all collapsed in on itself.

“Spiraea” was built upon an urgent set of rhythmic loops and the strongest motorik vibe yet to manifest here. The synths adding guttural sounds and animalistic growls to what was approaching a potential Pop song but ultimately remained rooted in the trancelike book of Krautrock.

The sound of a circus calliope underpinned the joviality of “Providence.” Cicada-like rattles and buzzes almost obscured the appearance here of a more traditional verse/chorus song structure still couched in “Aspirin’s” consistent vocabulary of motorik rhythms and squelchy lead patches which almost managed to disguise the underlying musicality here which spoke of pre-Rock influences that were strongly redolent of early Jazz to my ears.

The closing track of “Muffler C” was the one track here which steadfastly refused to ultimately cohere or capitulate to the underlying convivial mood to most of the tracks here. No matter how unusual the patches and loops created for the recording, one could almost imagine them being used to accompany a century-old animated cartoon if one cocked their ear just right. Not so with “Muffler C.” It spoke of an impenetrability and inscrutability that was at odds with the rest of this album’s material and ended the album on a disquieting note.

I was happy to see that the cover art for “Aspirin” was illustrated by DEVO’s Mark Mothersbaugh. He had met Moebius back in 1978 when DEVO were holed up in Conny Plank’s studio where Eno, David Bowie, and Roedelius would show up and observe what the Akron spuds were up to and possibly join in. The left field but humorous vision of Mothersbaugh is appropriate for the “Aspirin” album which proudly walks the fine line between the avant garde and musical traditions a century old. All disguised by the cliche-free approach to the synths that Moebius was never content to relax his vigilance on. The music here could skirt the surprisingly traditional, but one would be hard pressed to recognize that given the sonic vocabulary that Moebius was employing.

If you need a mentally stimulating sonic palate cleanser after too long spent in the music doldrums, then this “Aspirin” will be just the medicine you need to get that spring back into your step. Starting today the LP can be yours for $24.00 or the CD at $15.00. I’m happy to see a forward thinking American label like Curious Music making the effort to insure that not every Krautrock related album has to be issued on German niche labels like Bureau B [though we love them]. With domestic shipping, American fans of Moebius can lift their spirits without breaking the bank on shipping. You know the drill…DJ hit that button.

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