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Pictures painted in music

  Tobias Fischer

Rational analysis, endless preparations and detailed plans – these formalistic aspects of musical performance mean nothing to Dortmund-based Drone-builder Hellmut Neidhardt. Instead, Neidhardt has manifested his romantic inclination for amplified guitar noise in a string of on-the-dime performances revealing both a deep love for dark poetry and atmospheric subtlety. Never a professional musician in need of pleasing an audience, he has chosen to make use of his complete creative independence to release exclusively when both time and music seemed right. The result is a discography spanning three distinct phases: A first as a member of [multer], a band project with Thomas K. Geiter and Mal Hoeschen, which lasted from their inception in 1998 to final full-length „Kopenhagener Deutung“ in 2003. A second, marked by a six-year release-hiatus, in which his N-alias, mainly through sampler contributions, nonetheless gradually grew from an experimental side-project into his main outlet. And his current period of more pronounced activity, involving a remarkably busy release schedule and an increased live presence. Already into his second decade as an artist, Neidhardt may finally have hit home.