Earth Blue

by Stewart MasonFirst appearing at the dawn of the German progressive music scene that would eventually be dubbed Krautrock, but quickly moving off into a more ethereal realm along the lines of Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, and Harold Budd, Deuter makes the sort of instrumental albums that one could cynically claim all sound alike, but a closer listen reveals subtle and often interesting variations. Earth Blue has a particularly unusual genesis: the composer/flutist -- now living in the mountains near Santa Fe, NM -- was contacted by Volkswagen in the early 2000s to create musical backgrounds for their largest auto production and assembly plant in the corporation's home city of Wolfsburg, Germany. In other words, Earth Blue is like United Airlines contacting Eno to bankroll the writing and recording of Music for Airports. There's nothing crassly commercial about the results, however; it's not like Deuter worked old Volkswagen jingles into his piece or anything like that. Indeed, the expansive, dream-like soundscapes of Earth Blue have no logical connections to cars or travel, no Neu!-style motorik beats or Autobahn-esque uses of highways sounds as music. Instead, the overall feeling is one of simple, peaceful calm. Ironically, you probably don't want to listen to this CD while you're driving: alpha states and steering wheels don't mix.