Markus Reuter & Stephan Thelen - 2025 - Promise of a Better World

(37:38; Iapetus)






















I have been fortunate enough to have heard a few of Stephen’s collaborations, and here he is again working with one of my favourite musicians, Markus Reuter. Markus of course provides Touch Guitar and soundscapes while Stephen gives us Organ, strings, e-bow guitar and granular synth. There are just two tracks here, but one is nearly 18 minutes in length and the other 20, which allows the listener to become fully immersed in what is going on. The title cut takes as its base, music created by Markus when he and Stephen were working on another album, ‘Rothko Spaces Vol. 4’, and then Stephen took that and added layers of organ and strings while on a solitary retreat in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains. The result is something which is massively over the top, hypnotic yet with a dark edge, combining early Kraftwerk with Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd, but with a more direct crescendo from guitar. The sound is huge, and one feels as if it is being listened to inside a dark cavern where there is no light, yet the space is huge and all there is the sound, and the sound is all there is. 

The second track, “Clocks Go Down in Wonderland”, is a 2025 reimagining of their 2019 digital-only debut. However, this is now longer and includes additional sections while it has been remixed and changed considerably by Stephen as he builds on the original. This is again incredibly hypnotic with repeated melodies and sections which bring the listener into a different world where the music is the only thing which matters. It is very different indeed to the first track, yet they both have the same sense of deep engagement and that there is something more here than just sound, as a deep connection is being made and we are helpless to resist its power. 

This definitely benefits from being played on headphones when the listener truly has the time to become immersed with no distractions and is better suited to the night than to the light of day. Powerful stuff. 

Kev Rowland, October 2025

Links:
https://www.markusreuter.com/
https://www.stephanthelen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/iapetusstore

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