First things first. Brinkmann has been around the bushes since late 70s even before completing his art studies in the German city of Düsseldorf. I've red somewhere that he was expelled for his philosophies. Whatever that means.
Throughout the 80s he was experimenting and manipulating records. Highly inspired by names such as the Japanese electronic musician and artist Ryuichi Sakamoto. Wolfgang Voigt aka Mike Ink's Studio1 was apparently the reasons why he wanted to do recordings on a more serious level.
In mid 90s he received great success within the electronic techno and music scene with his highly advanced and experimental re-works of fellow techno producers Mike Ink and Richie Hawtin. This was stunningly performed by adding an additional tone-arm to a turntable and playing physically damaged records on the super turntable with separate output for both left and right channels. After hearing this Ink quickly released two of his recordings on his Berlin techno label Profan. Variationen I and II.
Brinkmann has released records under various monikers. Soul Centre is my favorite. There's a slight touch of Moodymann on the records. Brinkmann kicked off his minimal techno experimental Max Ernst label in late 90s. Highly abstract and sophisticated dub techno releases.
"What You Hear (Is What You Hear)" came out in 2015. This was a typical Brinkmann release. Looping sound scapes which you don't wanna leave behind. I personally find these ambient patterns extremely beautiful. The structure of the sounds is overwhelming. For me listening to the album is absolutely inner peace. Zen.
I can't wait to get my fingers on this monster 5x12". It's filled with old unreleased dance tracks. A little bit of this a little bit of that. Not so structured and nicely built as for instance "What You Hear (Is What You Hear)", but on the other hand the album title is promising something else. Furthermore you'll have a cool 20 page book with photos and notations by Brinkmann.
Listen to samples at juno.
Until then enjoy Thomas Brinkmann in Toronto. Visuals installed and provided by wuestenarchitekten.
