Überfällig

Another musician who cut his teeth in Berlin's Zodiak Free Arts Lab in the late 60s, guitarist Günter Schickert was a fixture in the city during the 1970s. Armed with a Dynacord Echo machine, he was also a pioneer of echo guitar, in the vein of his contemporary Achim Reichel. In 1974, he recorded his first album, Samtvogel ("Velvet Bird"). Although initially a private pressing, it was picked up and reissued by the Brain label in 1976. A purely analog effect, the looping of guitar parts through both echo-effect and a series of tape recorders produced an entrancing sound; but Schickert's subject matter was rather dark and decidedly noncommercial. Around the same time, he was working with Klaus Schulze as a guitarist and tour-hand, and also assisting with the Far East Family Band recordings; the pair even recorded an (unreleased) album. Schickert then formed GAM in 1976, with guitarist Axel Struck and bassist Michael Leske—musicians he had known for many years. The band recorded an album, Eiszeit, in 1978, but it too went unreleased; and eventually, the group collapsed. By the late 70s, Schickert met drummer Manfred Heuer, which led to the aptly titled Überfällig ("Overdue") record, released by Sky Records in 1979. "Puls" opens the album, with its guitar and percussion locked into a hypnotic groove; nothing sounds quite like this, nor is anything as seductive or timeless. The simple "In der Zeit" offers a vocal, the track's melody as haunting as its sparse arrangement. Clocking in at almost 12 minutes, "Apricot Brandy II" reprises a track from Schickert's previous record, but here with significantly more mass. The clicking rhythm keeps things from going sideways, as Schickert piles on vocals and effects through the echo machine—all rising in a glorious cacophony of sound. "Wanderer" closes the album; and it's a beguiling journey, drifting down a dark, untraveled road. Indeed, Überfällig is both a timeless treat and sonic marvel. Schickert would remain active in the Berlin music and theater scene; but recordings would, as always, remain few and far between.