AW-002: Ferroklang Ensemble - Nachtzug Spiral
- 1Ankündigung: Letzter Zug
- 2Gleis 12/13 Motorik
- 3Wartesaal Drone
- 4Tunnelfahrt
- 5Nachtzug Spiral
AW002
•
Open edition
AW-002: FERROKLANG ENSEMBLE – Nachtzug Spiral
Label: Aurora Weltklang
Format: LP (180 g vinyl) + Fold-out Station Blueprint Insert
Recording Dates: 23–25 January 1970 (00:47–04:31 nightly)
Release Date: November 1970
Edition: 222 hand-numbered copies (platform-stamp on rear)
Location: Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (concourse, mail tunnel, signal house – after hours)
Total Runtime: 42:50
Genres: Progressive Krautrock · Kosmische Musik · Industrial Drone · Psychedelic Rock · Field-Recording Infused
SIGNAL PRESSURE REVIEW
Nachtzug Spiral is Ferroklang Ensemble’s first of two dispatches from the rails — a transitional Krautrock suite cut live in the empty hours of Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. Cleaners roamed, vents sang at 50 Hz, and the mail tunnel itself acted as delay. The group played the station as instrument: no PA feed, no overdubs — just boundary mics on tile, contact pickups on handrails, and a drum kit kicking into the concourse’s vast reverb while tape loops echoed the last departures.
Side A maps a route from announcement chimes through motorik pulse to subterranean throb. Side B holds a single, side-long spiral that never resolves, driven by endurance rather than form. The result feels more like a time-lapse of movement than a concert — Krautrock reduced to pulse, footprint, and returning echo.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION & RECORDING SPECIFICATIONS
• Capture Method: Live ensemble recording across concourse and mail tunnel; mono fold of stereo array; no overdubs
• Recorders: UHER Report L (¼″ @ 9.5 cm/s) roaming unit; Revox A77 (¼″ @ 7.5 ips) parked beneath sign bay K
• Microphones: 2 DIY boundary plates (PZM style) on terrazzo; 1 AKG D190 overhead; 2 contact pickups on steel rail and luggage-belt frame
• Signal Path: Instruments → small combo amps (low SPL) → room return via boundary mics; contact feeds blended for attack; no mix desk — resistive Y-split to recorders
• Environmental Notes: Station PA bleed (chime head only); mail-trolley passes and ventilation fundamental (50.1 Hz) retained
• Mixing & Mastering: On-site gain balancing only; lacquer cut at Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Mainz); no EQ or compression
• Artifacts Intentionally Kept: Speed droop on intro; iron-gate rattle in tunnel; overshoot reverb on side break
TRACKLIST + CUE LOG
Side A – Gleiswerk (21:22)
1․ Ankündigung: Letzter Zug – 03:14
2․ Gleis 12 / 13 Motorik – 06:37
3․ Wartesaal Drone – 07:03
4․ Tunnelfahrt – 04:28
Side B – Nachtzug Spiral (21:28)
1․ Nachtzug Spiral – 21:28
Total Runtime: 42:50
INSERTS & VISUAL EPHEMERA
• 9-page PDF of inserts / ephemera
• Fold-out concourse blueprint (mic placements in red pencil, cable runs in graphite)
• Platform punch-card replica for edition numbering
• Small timetable slip stapled to inner sleeve (last departures highlighted)
• Label face stamped with station-clock glyph (time varies per copy)
PHYSICAL RELEASE DETAILS
• Vinyl weight: 180 g black; white poly-lined inner
• Jacket: Reverse-board matte stock with blind-embossed platform grid (front untitled)
• Numbering: Graphite rear lower-left (platform stamp + copy number)
• Pressing: Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Mainz)
• Assembly: Hand-stamped and sleeved at Herzkammer workshop; distributed via AW inter-communal trade routes
SUBSEQUENT FORMATS & VARIANTS
• 1987 cassette dub (internal archive, mono; minor azimuth error)
• 2003 AW Archive CD-R (staff circulation with blueprint scan)
• Bootleg Night Station Suite (1989, Vienna): incorrect speed · cropped Side B
• 2025 - Digital Archive Reissue - digital archive transfer from A77 master, 9-page PDF of visual ephemera
EPILOGUE
Nachtzug Spiral reduces Krautrock to its core elements: pulse, space, and endurance. The station’s acoustics serve as arrangement, the final trains set the tempo, and the ensemble balances environment and intention. Neither static nor restless, it captures a city still in motion long after its schedule stops.
FOR LISTENERS OF:
• Neu! – Neu! 2 (long edits)
• Cluster – Zuckerzeit
• Harmonia – Musik von Harmonia
• Can – Future Days (ambient passages)
• Fernfeld – Magnetritus
credits
released November 1, 1970
• Anselm Ritter — drums, concourse percussion, time signals
• Petra Laux — guitar (EBow / rail slide), minor oscillator inserts
• Volker Dünnwald — electric bass, mail-belt thuds
• Mira Althoff — portable keys / harmonium pad, tape-loop alignment
• Jannik Straub — clarinet / reed drones via stairwell, contact-rail feedback
• Oskar Bender — field capture logistics, recorder sync, boundary-plate rigging
all rights reserved
Label: Aurora Weltklang
Format: LP (180 g vinyl) + Fold-out Station Blueprint Insert
Recording Dates: 23–25 January 1970 (00:47–04:31 nightly)
Release Date: November 1970
Edition: 222 hand-numbered copies (platform-stamp on rear)
Location: Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (concourse, mail tunnel, signal house – after hours)
Total Runtime: 42:50
Genres: Progressive Krautrock · Kosmische Musik · Industrial Drone · Psychedelic Rock · Field-Recording Infused
SIGNAL PRESSURE REVIEW
Nachtzug Spiral is Ferroklang Ensemble’s first of two dispatches from the rails — a transitional Krautrock suite cut live in the empty hours of Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof. Cleaners roamed, vents sang at 50 Hz, and the mail tunnel itself acted as delay. The group played the station as instrument: no PA feed, no overdubs — just boundary mics on tile, contact pickups on handrails, and a drum kit kicking into the concourse’s vast reverb while tape loops echoed the last departures.
Side A maps a route from announcement chimes through motorik pulse to subterranean throb. Side B holds a single, side-long spiral that never resolves, driven by endurance rather than form. The result feels more like a time-lapse of movement than a concert — Krautrock reduced to pulse, footprint, and returning echo.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION & RECORDING SPECIFICATIONS
• Capture Method: Live ensemble recording across concourse and mail tunnel; mono fold of stereo array; no overdubs
• Recorders: UHER Report L (¼″ @ 9.5 cm/s) roaming unit; Revox A77 (¼″ @ 7.5 ips) parked beneath sign bay K
• Microphones: 2 DIY boundary plates (PZM style) on terrazzo; 1 AKG D190 overhead; 2 contact pickups on steel rail and luggage-belt frame
• Signal Path: Instruments → small combo amps (low SPL) → room return via boundary mics; contact feeds blended for attack; no mix desk — resistive Y-split to recorders
• Environmental Notes: Station PA bleed (chime head only); mail-trolley passes and ventilation fundamental (50.1 Hz) retained
• Mixing & Mastering: On-site gain balancing only; lacquer cut at Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Mainz); no EQ or compression
• Artifacts Intentionally Kept: Speed droop on intro; iron-gate rattle in tunnel; overshoot reverb on side break
TRACKLIST + CUE LOG
Side A – Gleiswerk (21:22)
1․ Ankündigung: Letzter Zug – 03:14
2․ Gleis 12 / 13 Motorik – 06:37
3․ Wartesaal Drone – 07:03
4․ Tunnelfahrt – 04:28
Side B – Nachtzug Spiral (21:28)
1․ Nachtzug Spiral – 21:28
Total Runtime: 42:50
INSERTS & VISUAL EPHEMERA
• 9-page PDF of inserts / ephemera
• Fold-out concourse blueprint (mic placements in red pencil, cable runs in graphite)
• Platform punch-card replica for edition numbering
• Small timetable slip stapled to inner sleeve (last departures highlighted)
• Label face stamped with station-clock glyph (time varies per copy)
PHYSICAL RELEASE DETAILS
• Vinyl weight: 180 g black; white poly-lined inner
• Jacket: Reverse-board matte stock with blind-embossed platform grid (front untitled)
• Numbering: Graphite rear lower-left (platform stamp + copy number)
• Pressing: Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Mainz)
• Assembly: Hand-stamped and sleeved at Herzkammer workshop; distributed via AW inter-communal trade routes
SUBSEQUENT FORMATS & VARIANTS
• 1987 cassette dub (internal archive, mono; minor azimuth error)
• 2003 AW Archive CD-R (staff circulation with blueprint scan)
• Bootleg Night Station Suite (1989, Vienna): incorrect speed · cropped Side B
• 2025 - Digital Archive Reissue - digital archive transfer from A77 master, 9-page PDF of visual ephemera
EPILOGUE
Nachtzug Spiral reduces Krautrock to its core elements: pulse, space, and endurance. The station’s acoustics serve as arrangement, the final trains set the tempo, and the ensemble balances environment and intention. Neither static nor restless, it captures a city still in motion long after its schedule stops.
FOR LISTENERS OF:
• Neu! – Neu! 2 (long edits)
• Cluster – Zuckerzeit
• Harmonia – Musik von Harmonia
• Can – Future Days (ambient passages)
• Fernfeld – Magnetritus
credits
released November 1, 1970
• Anselm Ritter — drums, concourse percussion, time signals
• Petra Laux — guitar (EBow / rail slide), minor oscillator inserts
• Volker Dünnwald — electric bass, mail-belt thuds
• Mira Althoff — portable keys / harmonium pad, tape-loop alignment
• Jannik Straub — clarinet / reed drones via stairwell, contact-rail feedback
• Oskar Bender — field capture logistics, recorder sync, boundary-plate rigging
all rights reserved
