Maeror Tri was an ambient, noise and drone music band from Germany founded in the 1980s which consisted of Stefan "Baraka H" Knappe, Martin "GLIT[s]CH" Gitschel and Helge S. Hammerbrook (a.k.a. Helge Siehl).
In a way similar to Zoviet France, they used only live instruments to produce music with an enormous number of effects applied. They disbanded in the late 1990s after releasing a number of limited-edition records. They released music on labels such as Old Europa Cafe, Ant-Zen, Staalplaat, and Soleilmoon.
Stefan and Martin continued under the name of Troum, while Helge is recording as Tausendschoen and as H.S. Hammerbrook. Stefan Knappe is also the founder and owner of Drone Records.
History German band Maeror Tri was founded in April 1988 by Stefan Knappe and Helge S. Hammerbrook (in early years as Helge as Moune). The group consisted of three members who only used electric guitars and tons of processing devices to create their droning soundscapes. Their music borrowed elements from Industrial, avant-garde, minimalism and New Age meditation to reach a new form of transcendentalism. Very little is known about their origins, even the identity of the band's members remains vague, except for Stefan Knappe, the group's spokesperson and also owner of the label Drone Records. Nevertheless, it is for sure that all three members origin from the city Leer in northern Germany and know each other since their time in school.
The name they chose is probably an incorrect Latin expression that may be better translated as "The Mourning Three" or "The Grieving Three".
"Dedicated To A New Dawn", their first cassette, was self-released on their own Baracken Records in 1988, soon followed by many more cassette works on labels like ZNS, Tonspur and Audiofile, and a lot of compilations appearances.
In 1993 Korm Plastics (a label ran by Frans de Waard) released the very first "overground" Maeror Tri album "Multiple Personality Disorder" a concept CD divided in four long parts recorded back in 1991 that fully showcase their mastery in distorting and layering guitar sounds. It was soon followed by "Meditamentum", a collection of tracks from their first six cassette releases recorded between 1988 and 1993.
"Myein", a work recorded between 1992 and 1993, was released on American label ND in 1995. This work presented three long tracks that well exemplify some of the aspects of their art: the gothic droning of "Phlogiston", the ambient-electronica of "Desiderium", and the 47 minute long title track. The group expanded the themes of "Myein" into a 12-hour live performance at the AVE (Audio Visual Experimental) Festival in Arnhem, The Netherlands, in 1995. Extracts of the recorded performance were later released in 2010 on The A.V.E. - Tapes / Live in Nevers.
"Language of Flames and Sound", released on Italian label Old Europa Cafe in 1996, continued to chronicle the group's evolution into more abstract domains.
In May 1995, the group played the Ultimate Music Festival in Nevers, France, alongside Deutsch Nepal, Edward Ka-Spel, and Tony Wakeford among others. In July 1996, the band played a two-day festival in Cologne Germany alongside artists such as Faust, Thomas Köner, and Atom Heart among others. In September 1996, the group played the Heavy Nursing festival in Ghent, Belgium, which was headlined by Zoviet France.
In late 1996, as the group was about to break into the growing experimental electronica scene, one member of the band, Helge S. Moune, decided to quit, leaving Knappe and his other partner to continue as the duo Troum. "Mort aux Vaches", a symphony in three movements and the group's installment in Staalplaat's series of experimental electronica, and "Emotional Engramm" (on Iris Light), probably their most accessible recording, were both released in 1997 after their dissolution.
Archive material has continued to surface over the years after the group ceased to exist: a second volume of Meditamentum, released on Manifold in 1999, salvaged more material from the early years limited edition cassettes (works from 1989 to 1992), while the "Hypnotikum I" and "Hypnotikum II" LPs are valid examples of the group's live attitude.
Yearning for the Secret of Nature is a "cassette album".
ZNS Tapes, long defunct tape label from Germany, offered a catalogue of all music released by the label during its existence from 1987 to 1993. Some of the offered works include "Ambient Dreams" by Maeror Tri and a compilation called "Non-Nuclear War" to which Maeror Tri contributed track called "Ecstatic Singing".
In 2005, EE Tapes released a CD compendium of all the band's vinyl releases except their first 7", "Saltatrix".
Musical style Piero Scaruffi wrote in 2003 that Maeror Tri "pioneered music for guitar-drones."
In 1996, Hungarian magazine Második Látás wrote an article analysing the work of Maeror Tri in context of the industrial music. They singled out their albums Yearning for the Secret of Nature and Multiple Personality Disorder as "great example[s] of their musical endeavors" and praising their ability to blend the "occupation of nature with psychic health", reinforcing our mind with "symbolic agitation of reality-infuriated, not merely amusing noises and through them. The magazine additionally highlighted that their compilation work, Meditamentum, "requires intelligent and sensitive attention".
In the same 1996 issue, appeared a review for their work Myein, describing it as a "masterpiece, and one of the highlights and fulfillment of post industrial, or (ITT) ambient-noise". The first composition, "Phlogiston", cascades with several layers of guitar sounds, mixed in way that it "sounds even more blurred than in Branca's works, repetitive pulsations stretched to catharsis". On the second composition, "Desiderium", the noises calm down, and "the long-held notes slowly mature into melodies". Mood-wise, it was characterized as an "irresistible force" pulling towards "the path of self-discovery, [..] even when deep pains await him on this path". The music of Maeror Tri, according Második Látás, provides the "a larger and broader framework, beyond space and time" that can be inhibited by a listener.
Discography YearTitleFormatLabelNotes1988Dedicated To A New DawnMC (C-60)Baracken RecordsPrivate release1988Perception KillsMC (C-60)Baracken RecordsPrivate release1989Peak ExperienceMC (C-60)Harsh Reality Music1990Peak ExperienceMC (C-60)BestattunginstitutTwo tracks differ from prior version1990Somnia Et ExpergisciMC (C-60)IRRE Tapessplit with Nostalgie Eternelle1990Ambient DreamsMC (C-60)ZNS Tapes1991FragilitasMCDrone Recordsonly private presents were made1991Sensuum MendaciaMC (C-45)Direction Music1991Subliminal ForcesMC (C-60)Tonspur Tapes1992HypnobasiaMC (C-45)Old Europa Cafe1992VenenumMC (C-60)Audiofile Tape1992Timeless TranscensionVideo (VHS)1993Multiple Personality DisorderCDKorm Plastics1993Saltatrix7"Drone Records1993Yearning For The Secret(s) Of NatureMC (C-77)Fools Paradise1993Mind ReversalMC (C-60)Hithlahabuth1993Archaic StatesMC (C-60)G.R.O.S.S.1994Ultimate TimeMC (C-60)Old Europa Cafe1994MeditamentumCDHolonom HOL01, edition of 500 numbered copiesThe only release of this label ran by Robert Osten, later continued as RAUM 312 and now EDITION AURINIA1995Physis7"Fools Paradise1995MyeinCDND 10001995Mystagogus7"Noise Museum1995AmbiguitasMC (C-60)Lebensraum/N&B1996Exorbitant7"Ant-Zen1996The Beauty Of SadnessMC (C-70)Direction Music1996Language Of Flames And SoundCDOld Europa Cafe1997Mort Aux VachesCDStaalplaat1997Emotional EngrammCDIris Light1998PleromaPic-10"Ant-Zen1998Hypnotikum ILPSoleilmoon1998Simulationswelten7"Rendezvous RadikalTogether with Telepherique1999Meditamentum IICDManifold Records1999VenenumCD-RÜne1999Hypnotikum IILPPoeta Negra/Absurd2000Mind ReversalCD-RBlade2000Forazeihan/Broken Books and WingsPic-7"The Disaster AreaSplit with Crawl Unit2001Yearning For The Secret Of NatureCD-REE TapesReissue2005Hypnobasia/Ultimate Time2CDOld Europa CafeReissue2005MeditamentumCDManifoldReissue2005MyeinCDWaystyxReissue2005Peak ExperienceCD-RBlade Records/AFEReissue2005Sensuum MendaciaCD-RL White RecordsReissue2005The Beauty Of SadnessCDTantric HarmoniesReissue2005The SinglesCDEE Tapes2010The A.V.E. - Tapes / Live in NeversCDZhelezobetonLive recordings
Discography - Compilation appearances
YearTrack titleAppears on/Compilation nameFormatLabel1989WheelThe Final CompilationMC (C-60)De Koude Oorlog1989The Last PerceptionTape Rebel 9MC (C-30)Weed Music1990Growing RotationDetonatorMC (C-60)Bestattungsinstitut1990Ecstatic SingingNon-Nuclear WarMC (C-60)ZNS Tapes1990Cursed ColoursA Tender TensionMC (C-60)Pharaoh Chronium Sounds1990ChirpingCrime On Family Bombed Mother And Son2MC (C-90)Black Death1990Endless SpaceThree Into One Vol. 7MC (C-60)Clockwork Tapes1990Secret Ways Of A PyramidThree Into One Vol. 7MC (C-60)Clockwork Tapes1990TranquilizerThree Into One Vol. 7MC (C-60)Clockwork Tapes1990This Is HeavenThree Into One Vol. 7MC (C-60)Clockwork Tapes1990ParticipationStuhlgangsblockadenLPSchimpfluch1991Choir Of TranscendenceDevastating Templaric SoundsMC (C-60)Biotope Art Organization1991The Seven SignalsIt's TimeMC (C-60)Black Death1991TremorParadoxical ParalysisMC (C-60)Bestattungsinstitut1991ArcanaDouble-MindMC (C-60)Tears Compilations1991From Where Comes This Fear?Double-MindMC (C-60)Tears Compilations1991AnkhDouble-MindMC (C-60)Tears Compilations1991PriorMagnetic FieldsMC (C-60)SPH1991Love In A VacuumMagnetic FieldsMC (C-60)SPH1991OmniumMagnetic FieldsMC (C-60)SPH1991SearcherNinians Night ElvesMC (C-90)Love Is The Reason Why1991Ab InferisMotop 2CDIf Records1992AmygdalaeA New Kind Of TormentMC (C-60)Linea Taktika1992IngeniumBehind Mysterious GatesMC (C-60)No Control Torture1992Lacus MortisAllianz MC (C-60)Pallentin1992Entropy's Child In A Thoughtful MoodKeine EinzelgängerMC (C-90)Cat-Killer1992ExiltasNeue Muster Vol 8&92MC (C-40)Tonspur1992A Storm Of SparksMetallverarbeitende IndustrieMC (C-45)Bestattungsinstitut1992ArdorBehind Mysterious GatesCDNo Control Torture1993Inner LightningNightporters Vol.2MCJeremy Bamber Tapes1993Droning SoulsMacrocephalous CompostVideo (VHS)Old Europa Cafe1994The Glowing Of NightVexatio CerebriMC (C-60)Contaminated Productions1994PhilemonBad Alchemy #23MCtape-magazine1994SuavitasOutbreakers IICDEbu's Music1994UltramundanVeromon MC (C-60)Ant-Zen1994Subliminal ConversationAtmosphere & EmpathyMC (C-60)Ebu's Music1994The Reckoning SpaceNotre-Dame Vol.7 MC (C-60)EE-Tapes1994Searcher (Fragment)Real Underground Vol.1&2MC (C-90/60)Progressive Entertainment1994Searcher (Fragment)Auf Abwegen #16MCtape-magazine1994Spiritual EmanationsAuf Abwegen #16MCtape-magazine1994The Beginning Of The UnmeasuredBovine Spongiform EncephalopathyCDFools Paradise1994Immersion In EmotionFrom The Hills Of DreamVideo/MCDirection Music1995FragilitasL'Ordre Et Le ChaosCDActus Dei1995Inner Spheres DeceasingInvisible DomainsCDMalignant Records1995NeophobiaPathological ResonanceMC (C-60)Anomalous Records1996The AnaesthetiseSlumbermusic CDUniversal Egg Records1997Terraformen 1Régénération - Dégénérescence2CDCynistrose
See also List of ambient music artists
References
External links