Description
An ecology- inspired Krautrock album (1971) from a short- lived group comprised of German school- chums, some of whom had recorded an LP as Trikolon.
Tetragon did not conform to any predetermined musical style: they played whatever they pleased, as long as it included groovy Hammond organ and very trippy, flanged wah- wah guitar, in various taut jamming modes that favored jazz/ rock fusion à la Miles Davis with a small dose of classical music (adapting a Bach fugue along the way).
The result is a bouquet of lush instrumentals, with elements of Egg or the Nice, and quite a bit of T2 to boot. The album was recorded in a converted barn, using a Revox A77 two- track tape recorder and seven microphones placed judiciously to best capture the sound of each instrument.
Re- recording wasn’t possible, as the record was mixed live.
Yet these challenging conditions inspired the band to great heights: Hendrik Schaper played organ and clavinet simultaneously, with one hand on each keyboard; meanwhile, Jürgen Jaehner unleashed rampaging electric guitar solos, then, in an instant, switched to acoustic guitar for the next musical passage; Schaper didn’t own a piano, so he used a pre- amp with a wah- wah pedal to imitate that instrument’s sound. A virtuoso effort, from start to finish!
Tetragon didn’t bother contacting any record labels; they didn’t their music would interest anyone. A mere 400 copies of the album were released on a private label, named Soma after the drug- induced effect described in Alduous Huxley’s Brave New World.
Our edition includes all of the original pro- environment, anti- industrial pollution gatefold album art, a detailed band history, band photos, and a nearly fifteen- minute bonus track, recorded live in Georgsmarienhütte in 1972.
