After a prolific run in the 1970s, Manuel Göttsching's '80s output with Ash Ra Tempel was greatly reduced and the quality of his work was uneven: Belle Alliance flirted with contemporary synth pop with mixed results; E2-E4 proved influential, resonating with subsequent electronic artists; and the cheesy new age travelogue Tropical Heat dabbled in some of the decade's worst sonic clichés. Recorded in 1988, Walkin' the Desert struck a tasteful balance between Göttsching's experimental inclinations and a more mainstream techno sensibility. The album is an edited version of a performance given with Lutz Ulbrich in Berlin for the Desert Sounds event series (part of the Berlin: European Capital of Culture festival). In its original context, the music was accompanied by readings from works by Otl Aicher, Albert Camus and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and, in keeping with the event's thematic focus on the desert, the record displays recurring Middle Eastern and Asian nuances and motifs. The minimalist influence of Steve Reich and Philip Glass, who inspired some of Göttsching's strongest mid-'70s material, is still evident on First Movement: Two Keyboards, an arrangement of rippling piano patterns with subtly changing intensities. Second Movement: Six Voices initially trades sparse, mantra-like rigidity for expansive synth textures and an austere symphonic gravitas, although the track gradually coalesces with ornate percussive chimes. The album's Eastern dimension is most explicit on the epic Fourth Movement: Twelve Samples, which weaves a hypnotic tapestry of vocal loops and concludes with what sounds like a muezzin's voice. Despite the emphasis on keyboards, synths and samples, Göttsching doesn't completely forsake his signature cosmic guitar sound on Walkin' the Desert: Dessert: Eight Tracks combines soaring guitar lines with plucked strings. Like Tropical Heat, this album comprises a sort of musical travelogue -- happily, however, Walkin' the Desert takes listeners on a much more pleasant and compelling journey. ~ Wilson Neate, Rovi

1		First Movement
2		Second Movement
3		Third Movement
4		Fourth Movement
5		Dessert

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