CONRAD SCHNITZLER - BALLET STATIQUE (Spalax 14223) CD 56mNever heard of a Con album called BALLET STATIQUE? Actually, it was the title he wanted to call his international debut CON (originally released in France, USA and Canada on Egg records in 1978), and this is a reissue of that album plus bonus material.For many, this was their first experience of Con's music. I remember at the time, 'hmm... he was the other person on TD's ELECTRONIC MEDITATION, and this is all synths and produced by Peter Baumann, curious...'. Of course I bought it and was delighted with the unusual use of sequences, abstract melodies and really cosmic sound. In fact CON was much more an innovative album than I expected. The opening shimmering gliding tones, sparse and gradually gaining form, make Electric Garden an ideal opener. Ballet Statique itself is notably influenced by Peter Baumann. Then there's Zug, zooming along like an express train, and in sharp contrast Metall 1, a swirling gliding mass of electronic tones. Finally Black Nails returns calmly to the Baumann-esque, open barely rhythmic structure of former tracks.Of course with this CD that's not all, with five shorter complimentary tracks recorded around the same time (originally issued on a volume of the CONTAINER series of cassettes) that make for an even greater listening experience. Curious titles like: Frozen Bubbles or The Sinking of a Melting Drone capture the spirit of this striking otherworldly music perfectly, ending with the eerie twittering and rasping cavernous tones of Underwater Church. Excellent! From my review in Audion #22, published in July 1992