The album “Kontraktion” is the result of two long sessions that have been recorded on tapes by Conrad Schnitzler and Siegmar Fricke in Con’s former studio Leberstrasse in Berlin. The five soundscapes (produced in November 1986 and July 1987 with EMS-Synthi A, KORG MS 10+20, delays) contain all the machinistic energy and infernal industrial sound-eruptions similar to Conrad’s first three albums “Schwarz”, “Rot” and “Blau” and to the rumbling train-wheel-rhythms of “Zug” (from the CON-album 1978). In addition “Kontraktion” carries the spirit of the first album by Cluster (released on Philips in 1971) due to the imposing bruitiste elements of uneasy sci-fi atmospheres. In 2014 the long sessions on tape have been edited, restructured and recombined by Siegmar Fricke at Pharmakustik-studio Germany and have now become a powerful milestone... 30 years after they have been recorded.

Siegmar Fricke's earliest musical experiments since 1981 involved reel-to-reel recordings of short-waves and acoustic noises that were arranged in the stereo-field to complete compositions of musique-concrète. After various activities within the worldwide tape-scene from 1985-1993 he concentrated on his solo-works and also on collaborations with important figures of the experimental scene: Conrad Schnitzler, Maurizio Bianchi from Milano, Miguel A. Ruiz (Orfeon Gagarin) from Madrid, Giancarlo Toniutti from Udine. PHARMAKUSTIK is related to medical subjects because the working-methods on sound have similarities to surgical procedures: cutting acoustic particles, decomposing, involving granular-synthesis and complex parameters for complete dissection and re-implantation of electronic fragments.