[CP 258 CD] Kai Harster; Return To Nature & Other Delights
February 2022 release; this is a true one-off, exactly the sort of record that the C.P. cognoscenti are constantly on the lookout for. The only release... and in fact, Harster's only other discographical credit of note outside of what's presented on this album, is a set of lyrics contributed to a single Eela Craig LP (E.C. of course being the band that Harald Zuschrader & Hubert Bognermayr played in before founding the Elektronisches Försterhaus at which this material was recorded, issuing a couple of records on Austrian E-Music powerhouse Erdenklang.) Otherwise the man is a ghost, and this is the only proof we have of his musical predilections.
While the emotionally wide-open chords that kick things off here will lead you to believe that you're about to undertake a suite of Berlin-School trappings, you couldn't be further from the truth, as the quickly deteriorating arrays of process field recordings, errant synth flourish, and garbled, mutant vocals take this far, far away from the idyllic Northern Austrian countryside into something a bit more personal & transgressive, often landing in similar "One Man Against The World" lanes as our much-heralded Lorq Damon, Steve Birchall, and, yes, of course, Nik Pascal.
Comes in a 6-panel semi-gloss booklet recreating Harster's icy, fearsome gaze in excruciating detail, even presenting a simulacrum of the "Promotional" insert that was included with initial copies of the 1981 Private Pressing.