SCHNITZLER & KEN MONTGOMERY, CONRAD - CAS-CON II: Konzert in der Erloserkirche, Ost-Berlin, 3.9.1986

"As part of Bureau B's series Experimental Electronic Underground GDR, the label make a very special recording available again. The first contact between Conrad Schnitzler, who lived in West Berlin, and Jörg Thomasius, who was based in the east party of the city, came about in the late 1970s. In 1985, Schnitzler visited Thomasius in East Berlin for the first time. In the meantime, Thomasius had released cassettes in the GDR both as a soloist and with his group DFO (Das freie Orchester). The following year, the idea of a joint concert in East Berlin's Erlöserkirche was born. In the GDR, it was not possible to hold events in public without a so-called state "classification". DFO did not have this permit at that time and so public performances were only possible in the context of private or church institutions. In 1982, Schnitzler had already met the New York musician Ken Gen Montgomery, who then regularly performed Schnitzlers's compositions live at various venues worldwide. And so, Schnitzler also produced four cassettes especially for his concert in East Berlin, which were sent by courier from West to East Berlin. On the evening of 3.9.1986, the privately announced and illegal concert took place in the Erlöserkirche in East Berlin/GDR. Montgomery mixed Schnitzler's music live from the tapes. Jörg Thomasius recorded the performance and released the recording in 1987 on his own underground cassette label, Krötenkassetten. Elaborately restored, the original recording is now being released for the first time under the title CAS-CON II. In addition to photos and contemporary documents, it also includes Jörg Thomasius's and Ken Gen Montgomery's written memories of this very special evening." - Bureau B.