AW-018: ZIRKEL 92 - Resonanzzeichen
- 1Zeichen I
- 2Zeichen II
- 3Zeichen III
- 4Zeichen IV
- 5Zeichen V
- 6Zeichen VI
- 7Zeichen Reprise
AW-018
•
Open edition
AW-018: ZIRKEL 92 - Resonanzzeichen
Label: Aurora Weltklang
Catalog No.: AW-018
Format: LP + Spiral-bound Transmission Booklet
Original Release: February 1975
Recording Dates: October-December 1974
Recording Locations: Herzkammer Vaults (Freiburg); Bochum Sub-Transfer Unit; Graz Stairwell
Node
Edition: 192 copies (each uniquely transmission-marked on inner label)
Total Runtime: 46:38
Genres: Transmission Music · Conceptual Drone · Ambient Cartography · Psychoacoustic
Feedback · Kraut-Minimalism
1. SIGNAL PRESSURE REVIEW
By the winter of 1974, ZIRKEL 92 had moved past the notion of “band” entirely.
Resonanzzeichen is what happened when their instruments started behaving more like lab
equipment than tools of expression - a full-length experiment in transmission and decay.
Released in February 1975 in a run of just 192 copies, each hand-marked and inscribed with a
graphite glyph, the LP documents the group’s deep dive into acoustic behavior: how walls,
corridors, and stairwells react when asked to sing back.
The sessions unfolded across three zones: the Freiburg Herzkammer Vaults, a steel corridor in
Bochum, and the Graz stairwell node. Instead of chasing a performance, the group sent sine
tones, filtered pulses, and feedback loops into these spaces, recording how each one distorted
and answered. The result isn’t ambience in the Eno sense; it’s surveillance - the sound of
architecture caught mid-reply.
Side A’s “Zeichen I (Tunnel Pulse)” and “Zeichen II (Transmission Melt, Graz 3 AM)” feel
geological. The bass frequencies swell and shrink like air pressure shifts, while ceramic
microphones catch the faint friction of echoing surfaces. “Zeichen III (Echo Diagram)” turns the
entire signal path into an abstract blueprint - every reflection mapped, every failure left
exposed.
Side B moves from meditative to menacing. “Zeichen IV (Refraktion: Nordwand)” creeps
forward in metallic glints, followed by “Zeichen V (Unprintable Phrase)”, a massive wall of
distortion that feels like Herzkammer’s circuitry groaning under strain. “Zeichen VI (Final
Transmission Loopback)” attempts to restore order before collapsing again, ending on a faint
reprise - a ghost of tone trying to hold its form.
If Commune Mirror Studies sounded like MIRRORDEN turning inward, Resonanzzeichen is
ZIRKEL 92 looking outward into the infrastructure itself. The music hums with the calm of
analysis - clinical but not cold, mechanical but never lifeless. It’s a record built from feedback,
patience, and the refusal to disguise error.
2. TECHNICAL INFORMATION & RECORDING SPECIFICATIONS
• Transmission Generation & Capture: Low-power analog sine-tone beacons; Siemens tone
pulse units routed through steel and concrete conduits; mic array of ceramic-diaphragm rigs,
Grundig contact units, and suspended pan transducers; BASF SM911 ¼″ reels, varispeed (7.5-15
ips); all signal imperfections intentionally retained.
• Signal Routing: Early ENV-MAP controller linked to TapeStation hub, enabling tone-memory
imprint-precursor to modular CV mapping.
• W-3 Delay Rack (built from DRV shells)
• Mixing & Mastering: Engineered by Gernot Wolff; lacquer cut direct from final tape at
Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Freiburg).
• Pressing Details: 192 LPs pressed; each inner label hand-etched with graphite “transmission
glyph” by Rosa Tielsch; UV-trace inspection applied before final sleeve assembly.
3. PERSONNEL
• Loreta Svein - vocals, guitar, saxophone, drones, electronics, tape collage
• Hennix Duval - bass guitar, drones, electronics
• Mika Krahne - drums, percussion
• Agnes Furch - mix engineering, semiotic transcription, diagram overlays
• Bernd “Kyro” Mahl - guitar overdubs, field diagramming, sub-transmission relay (Bochum
sector)
4. TRACKLIST + CUE LOG
Side A - Zeichen I-III (23:06)
1. Zeichen I (Tunnel Pulse) - 07:46
2. Zeichen II (Transmission Melt, Graz 3 AM) - 10:58
3. Zeichen III (Echo Diagram) - 04:22
Side B - Zeichen IV-VI (+ Reprise) (23:32)
4. Zeichen IV (Refraktion: Nordwand) - 03:30
5. Zeichen V (Unprintable Phrase) - 08:39
6. Zeichen VI (Final Transmission Loopback) - 07:38
7. Zeichen (Reprise) - 03:45
Total Runtime: 46:38
5. INSERTS & VISUAL EPHEMERA
• LP Jacket: Matte black reverse-board; front features pale-grey schematic of Beacon Transfer
Node array; rear includes annotated “Transmission Map” with recording zones and beacon IDs.
• Spiral-Bound Insert - Transmissionzeichen Buch: 12-page A5 booklet on translucent drafting
stock; includes tone-glyph visualizations, field-curve plots, and decay-overlay diagrams; central
spread titled “Transmissione ohne Antwort.”
• Special Artifacts: 28 copies include translucent acetate overlay (Tone Glyph Alignment Chart);
3 copies (marked Δ) printed in reverse grey; all inner-label glyphs unique and hand-scratched
with graphite stylus.
6. PHYSICAL RELEASE DETAILS
• LP Weight: Approx. 150 g standard vinyl.
• Jacket: Reverse-board matte with die-cut inner pocket for booklet.
• Inner Sleeve: Plain white, poly-lined.
• Booklet: Metal-spiral bound; stored in rear jacket compartment.
• Markings: Each copy individually transmission-marked; no two identical.
7. SUBSEQUENT FORMATS & VARIANTS
• 1983 Cassette Bootleg (Italy): Mono only; Side B omitted.
• 1999 CD-R Rip (US - “Glyph Loops 1975”): Lo-fi transfer; misattributed to MIRRORDEN.
8. OUTTAKES & ARCHIVAL VARIANTS
• Zeichen II (Extended, 13:21): Internal tape AW 018 C
• Unreleased Fragment: Zeichen VII - Graz Compression Suite
• Field Residue Reels: 16 minutes of unmixed transfer pulses (Vault Box Z/Γ/4.5).
• Boot-up Tones: Source fragment for “Zeichen IV” preserved in 2012 digital master.
9. EPILOGUE
Resonanzzeichen remains one of the purest statements of the ZIRKEL 92 ethos - not
performance, but presence. It captures the moment when sound ceased being an artistic
gesture and became a study in behavior. Each pulse, echo, and dropout feels deliberate yet
unstable, like documentation of a system thinking aloud.
It’s an album that asks for stillness, not surrender. Listen long enough, and you start hearing the
walls breathe. What was once labeled as experimental now plays like prophecy - a hum that
predicted how machines, environments, and humans would one day communicate without
speaking at all.
FOR LISTENERS OF:
• Éliane Radigue - Ψ 847
• Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting in a Room
• MIRRORDEN - Commune Mirror Studies
• The Hafler Trio - Bang!
• Iannis Xenakis - Bohor
Label: Aurora Weltklang
Catalog No.: AW-018
Format: LP + Spiral-bound Transmission Booklet
Original Release: February 1975
Recording Dates: October-December 1974
Recording Locations: Herzkammer Vaults (Freiburg); Bochum Sub-Transfer Unit; Graz Stairwell
Node
Edition: 192 copies (each uniquely transmission-marked on inner label)
Total Runtime: 46:38
Genres: Transmission Music · Conceptual Drone · Ambient Cartography · Psychoacoustic
Feedback · Kraut-Minimalism
1. SIGNAL PRESSURE REVIEW
By the winter of 1974, ZIRKEL 92 had moved past the notion of “band” entirely.
Resonanzzeichen is what happened when their instruments started behaving more like lab
equipment than tools of expression - a full-length experiment in transmission and decay.
Released in February 1975 in a run of just 192 copies, each hand-marked and inscribed with a
graphite glyph, the LP documents the group’s deep dive into acoustic behavior: how walls,
corridors, and stairwells react when asked to sing back.
The sessions unfolded across three zones: the Freiburg Herzkammer Vaults, a steel corridor in
Bochum, and the Graz stairwell node. Instead of chasing a performance, the group sent sine
tones, filtered pulses, and feedback loops into these spaces, recording how each one distorted
and answered. The result isn’t ambience in the Eno sense; it’s surveillance - the sound of
architecture caught mid-reply.
Side A’s “Zeichen I (Tunnel Pulse)” and “Zeichen II (Transmission Melt, Graz 3 AM)” feel
geological. The bass frequencies swell and shrink like air pressure shifts, while ceramic
microphones catch the faint friction of echoing surfaces. “Zeichen III (Echo Diagram)” turns the
entire signal path into an abstract blueprint - every reflection mapped, every failure left
exposed.
Side B moves from meditative to menacing. “Zeichen IV (Refraktion: Nordwand)” creeps
forward in metallic glints, followed by “Zeichen V (Unprintable Phrase)”, a massive wall of
distortion that feels like Herzkammer’s circuitry groaning under strain. “Zeichen VI (Final
Transmission Loopback)” attempts to restore order before collapsing again, ending on a faint
reprise - a ghost of tone trying to hold its form.
If Commune Mirror Studies sounded like MIRRORDEN turning inward, Resonanzzeichen is
ZIRKEL 92 looking outward into the infrastructure itself. The music hums with the calm of
analysis - clinical but not cold, mechanical but never lifeless. It’s a record built from feedback,
patience, and the refusal to disguise error.
2. TECHNICAL INFORMATION & RECORDING SPECIFICATIONS
• Transmission Generation & Capture: Low-power analog sine-tone beacons; Siemens tone
pulse units routed through steel and concrete conduits; mic array of ceramic-diaphragm rigs,
Grundig contact units, and suspended pan transducers; BASF SM911 ¼″ reels, varispeed (7.5-15
ips); all signal imperfections intentionally retained.
• Signal Routing: Early ENV-MAP controller linked to TapeStation hub, enabling tone-memory
imprint-precursor to modular CV mapping.
• W-3 Delay Rack (built from DRV shells)
• Mixing & Mastering: Engineered by Gernot Wolff; lacquer cut direct from final tape at
Schwarzschild Vinyl Works (Freiburg).
• Pressing Details: 192 LPs pressed; each inner label hand-etched with graphite “transmission
glyph” by Rosa Tielsch; UV-trace inspection applied before final sleeve assembly.
3. PERSONNEL
• Loreta Svein - vocals, guitar, saxophone, drones, electronics, tape collage
• Hennix Duval - bass guitar, drones, electronics
• Mika Krahne - drums, percussion
• Agnes Furch - mix engineering, semiotic transcription, diagram overlays
• Bernd “Kyro” Mahl - guitar overdubs, field diagramming, sub-transmission relay (Bochum
sector)
4. TRACKLIST + CUE LOG
Side A - Zeichen I-III (23:06)
1. Zeichen I (Tunnel Pulse) - 07:46
2. Zeichen II (Transmission Melt, Graz 3 AM) - 10:58
3. Zeichen III (Echo Diagram) - 04:22
Side B - Zeichen IV-VI (+ Reprise) (23:32)
4. Zeichen IV (Refraktion: Nordwand) - 03:30
5. Zeichen V (Unprintable Phrase) - 08:39
6. Zeichen VI (Final Transmission Loopback) - 07:38
7. Zeichen (Reprise) - 03:45
Total Runtime: 46:38
5. INSERTS & VISUAL EPHEMERA
• LP Jacket: Matte black reverse-board; front features pale-grey schematic of Beacon Transfer
Node array; rear includes annotated “Transmission Map” with recording zones and beacon IDs.
• Spiral-Bound Insert - Transmissionzeichen Buch: 12-page A5 booklet on translucent drafting
stock; includes tone-glyph visualizations, field-curve plots, and decay-overlay diagrams; central
spread titled “Transmissione ohne Antwort.”
• Special Artifacts: 28 copies include translucent acetate overlay (Tone Glyph Alignment Chart);
3 copies (marked Δ) printed in reverse grey; all inner-label glyphs unique and hand-scratched
with graphite stylus.
6. PHYSICAL RELEASE DETAILS
• LP Weight: Approx. 150 g standard vinyl.
• Jacket: Reverse-board matte with die-cut inner pocket for booklet.
• Inner Sleeve: Plain white, poly-lined.
• Booklet: Metal-spiral bound; stored in rear jacket compartment.
• Markings: Each copy individually transmission-marked; no two identical.
7. SUBSEQUENT FORMATS & VARIANTS
• 1983 Cassette Bootleg (Italy): Mono only; Side B omitted.
• 1999 CD-R Rip (US - “Glyph Loops 1975”): Lo-fi transfer; misattributed to MIRRORDEN.
8. OUTTAKES & ARCHIVAL VARIANTS
• Zeichen II (Extended, 13:21): Internal tape AW 018 C
• Unreleased Fragment: Zeichen VII - Graz Compression Suite
• Field Residue Reels: 16 minutes of unmixed transfer pulses (Vault Box Z/Γ/4.5).
• Boot-up Tones: Source fragment for “Zeichen IV” preserved in 2012 digital master.
9. EPILOGUE
Resonanzzeichen remains one of the purest statements of the ZIRKEL 92 ethos - not
performance, but presence. It captures the moment when sound ceased being an artistic
gesture and became a study in behavior. Each pulse, echo, and dropout feels deliberate yet
unstable, like documentation of a system thinking aloud.
It’s an album that asks for stillness, not surrender. Listen long enough, and you start hearing the
walls breathe. What was once labeled as experimental now plays like prophecy - a hum that
predicted how machines, environments, and humans would one day communicate without
speaking at all.
FOR LISTENERS OF:
• Éliane Radigue - Ψ 847
• Alvin Lucier - I Am Sitting in a Room
• MIRRORDEN - Commune Mirror Studies
• The Hafler Trio - Bang!
• Iannis Xenakis - Bohor
