"Long-awaited" doesn"t even begin to describe Neuland. After
all, its core synth cadets (former Tangerine Dream members
Peter Baumann and Paul Haslinger) first workshopped a record
under a different name (Blue Room) nearly 30 years ago. Its
promising sessions were ultimately shelved, but the project"s
creative process firmly established their friendship and a fruitful
dialogue that defies explanation. Neuland started the way many
long overdue projects do: with Paul Haslinger and Peter
Baumann asking themselves, "Why isn"t there anything out
there like this?" In their case, that meant a deeply immersive
debut album that"s respectful of their roots in Tangerine Dream
but exists on its own astral plane, Far more restless than most
ambient records, the pair"s self-titled LP is both focused and
freeing, alluding to everything from weightless grime melodies
to windswept film scores. And while there are hints of many
different modern artists here (Oneohtrix Point Never"s sci-fi
scapes, Zombi"s prog nods, the mechanical animal melodies of
Amon Tobin and Arca), Neuland is ultimately the sound of
something entirely new. "It all boils down to one word,
transcendence" explains Baumann.