During his formative years, Schnauss came to love a wide spectrum of music, ranging from My Bloody Valentine to Tangerine Dream, from Chapterhouse to early bleep and breakbeat tracks. There was not much opportunity to see his musical heroes in Kiel, so he moved to Berlin in 1996.
By that time Ulrich was already a prolific musician in such genres as ambient and drum and bass, with a variety of pseudonyms (most notably View to the Future and Ethereal 77). These earlier works soon caught the eye of Berlin electronica label CCO (City Centre Offices), who took him up.
Soon his submissions to CCO developed into Ulrich’s first album under his own name, entitled Far away Trains Passing By. It became an electronic classic; listeners were smitten with the lush instrumentation and the emotional impact of his elegant music.
Yet nothing could prepare his growing army of supporters for the next record, A Strangely Isolated Place, which slowly came together in 2001. The album truly displayed Ulrich's youthful indie influences and established his pedigree as an outstanding electronic composer. A Strangely Isolated Place has become one of those extraordinary and rare occurrences: a record that slowly grows in stature by virtue of its overriding ability to deliver more than the usual arid and academic treatises on the state of the synthesizer.
"When you've worked with computers and keyboards for a number of years, they become not so fascinating of themselves anymore," he said. "I gained in confidence after people began to discover Faraway Trains, and it hasn't really stopped since then. This time I decided not to compromise on what I wanted to do, with what I thought people might want me to do."
The result is an oddly retro-futurist record, which owes more to MBV's Loveless or Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack than Ulrich's computer-centric peers.
Since the release of both albums, Ulrich has been asked to work with and remix a host of artists including Mojave 3, Longview, Johannes Schmoelling, The Zephyrs, Robin Guthrie, A Shoreline Dream, Engineers and Lunz (Rodelius).
Goodbye, Ulrich Schnauss's third album, was released in 2007.
Molfsee
Ulrich Schnauss Lyrics
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"No!"
The lyrics "Are you mad?" and the response "No!" in Ulrich Schnauss's song Molfsee seem to express a conversation between two people where one is questioning the other's state of mind. The question might be an expression of disbelief at what the other person is saying or doing. The response could be an assertion of sanity, indicating that the person in question is not crazy or irrational. The conversation could also have a confrontational tone, with one person accusing the other of being mad or upset and the other person denying it. Overall, the lyrics seem to explore the human tendency to question each other's mental state and to assert our own sanity in the face of doubt or conflict.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you mad?
Do you have feelings of anger or insanity?
No!
I am not experiencing any feelings of anger or insanity.
Contributed by Reagan C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Seriously
This is why I love Ulrich Schnauss. He is so incredibly good at what he does. This song fits perfectly with a quiet walk on empty city streets at night. Or sitting in a train commuting home. Or looking out of the window of an airplane at night, at the city lights below. This man is truly incredible. It's a shame this video doesn't have more views.
MIB 63
Well said. I totally agree.
Goldfishy
Been listening to this album since early 2000s. So many great memories exactly as you described - driving alone down a remote highway or sitting and watching the rain.
The Nail Tech Files
Yes. I play clear day when I take off. This would be excellent too
Hootax
I listened to this music a ton when my depression sunk to its lowest level a few years ago. It carved out a place in my heart.
Pranav Gandhi
To my ear this masterpiece, and all pieces by Ulrich are so vastly different from BOC that it seems criminal to call either a rip-off of the other. Both are stellar. I’ve never experienced a musician who could toy with my emotions quite like Ulrich
Daakist
One of my favorite downtempo tracks of all time.
Ryszard Bińczyk
Great lulllabye.
Anthony von Blackpaths
I can't get this out of my head, it's so haunting! Sublime, darling!
Joshua Goodeve
I listen to this when I need a breather, when I need to step back. Reminding myself to persue what I really want, and not what society expects.