Langsyne from Barmen (Bergisches land region) in Germany played a subtle kind of psych-folk with a wide range of partly unusual, exotic and medieval instruments: sitar, psaltery, koto, glockenspiel, flute, et cetera.

Especially remarkable is the instinctive assurance with which the three musicians, who understood each other without words, played their music together. Their only LP was released as a very small edition of only 200 copies in 1976.

The band was Egbert Fröse, Matthias Mertler, and Ulrich Nähle.

Where and when did you grow up? Was music a big part of your family life?

Ulrich Nähle: My uncle listened to a lot of operetta music, my father sang in a male choir. I was listening to these sounds when I was five years old. My brothers listened to Elvis Presley and Bill Haley in the late 1950s, and of course I noticed that too. Only with The Beatles, which I first heard on the radio, was I inoculated with Beatlemania.

When did you begin playing music? What was your first instrument? Who were your major influences?

At the beginning of the 60s I got to know more music by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Pretty Things and many other bands. At school I took recorder lessons. At home I would drum on shoeboxes and pretend I was the drummer for the Kinks et cetera.

How would you describe the early counterculture scene in Germany in the late sixties and early seventies?

Well, I was too young for the ’68 movement and I wasn’t studying at the time. As an apprentice, you have often heard the saying: Apprenticeship years are not master years. However, the music and the sexual education freed me from the dogmas and the bourgeois mustiness that could be felt/smelled everywhere. There were also many concerts with bands from the surrounding area that offered an alternative culture. This also included first experiences with hashish and marijuana.

Were you in any bands prior to the formation of Langsyne?

Before there was Langsyne, I first met Egbert Fröse in 1968. Egbert, who was significantly involved in the musical development of Langsyne, and I initially only played together as a duo (guitar, vocals, harmony, percussion) and only in private rooms. Later we founded the band “Zarathustra” with a guitarist. There were a few gigs and the new guitarist soon said goodbye, never to be seen again.

Where did you meet other members of the band?

It must have been the year 1975 when Egbert and I decided that we needed another guitarist. We got to know Matthias Mertler through one of Egbert’s fellow students. The chemistry was right and so the Langsyne project slowly developed.

How did you decide to use the name ‘Langsyne’?

The name Langsyne actually comes from the song ‘Auld Lang Syne’ which is often sung on New Year’s Eve. Egbert came up with the idea, dropped the old and put “lang” and “syne” together.

Can you elaborate the idea behind Langsyne? Was there a concept behind it?

Since the first joint concert on New Year’s Eve 68/69, something independent has developed from the encounter between Egbert and me. Egbert, who at that time listened to a lot of Bob Dylan, Donovan and other folk as well as blues, I listened to Cream, Hendrix and Pink Floyd, of course as a guitarist and singer significantly determined the repertoire. I only played percussion and occasionally flute or glockenspiel. Little by little we played our own pieces and in five years quite a few things came together. The music that was made in the years 69-75 is unfortunately not documented. It was more psych-folk than what can be heard on the Langsyne LP though.

“I was listening to Incredible String Band LP’s with Egbert”

You incorporated a lot of folk influences from bands like Pentangle, Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention… When did you first hear their records?

I bought my first Pentangle LP in 1970. Before that I was listening to Incredible String Band LP’s with Egbert who was a big fan of that band. One band we also liked together was the English band Gryphon. Its influence can also be heard on the Langsyne LP. Of course we also heard bands like Fairport Convention, Fotheringay or Steeleye Span.

Did you play any gigs? How were you accepted by the audience and where did you play?

You can’t say we performed a lot. We played some gigs in youth centers and smaller clubs. The reaction of the audience was rather mixed. You had often expected something else – it was soft music and you had to listen.

What’s the story behind the 1976 album? Where did you record it? What kind of equipment did you use and who was the producer? How many hours did you spend in the studio?

The idea for the Langsyne album came about when we wanted to look through all our songs and make an LP of the best songs, which we wanted to finance and produce ourselves. As it turned out later, Egbert Fröse was supposed to end the Langsyne project for himself with this LP.

A friend of mine, Hartmut Oberhoff, offered us a place in his workshop. The simple equipment was set up there. It was recorded with two Revox G36 tape machines. The whole thing was produced by Hartmut and Langsyne after work, we all worked! It must have taken about four weeks until everything was in the “box”.

It was issued on Düsselton, it was self-released, right? How many copies did you press (and where?)?

Düsselton was just the recording studio that put the tapes on vinyl. We had 200 copies made from this first pressing and sold them ourselves. I’m assuming the LPs were pressed in Germany.

Would you share your insight on the albums’ tracks?

The two LPs of Garden of Delights contain so many comments on the songs that I can’t think of any more at this point.

The atmosphere on the album is haunting!

It’s nice when you describe it like that. I think I’m too far from it to feel like this anymore. But, it was a nice experience and by no means yesterday’s news.

Who did the cover artwork?

I designed this cover together with a colleague from the vocational school, Michael Hoffmann. Michael did the final artwork. I implemented the subsequent print and text inlays.

How pleased were you with the sound of the album? What, if anything, would you like to have been different from the finished product?

Personally, I wasn’t very happy with the finished pressing. The sibilants had increased hissing through the dubbing. In addition, the sound was not homogeneous. Almost every title sounded different. It couldn’t have been done any better with the equipment at the time. Everything had to be very cheap and that’s how it sounded in some places.

Were you friends with other bands from your town?

We knew some bands and musicians from Wuppertal and I used to play the flute at jam sessions. But there were no great friendships there.

There’s ‘Langsyne 2’ out via Garden of Delights. When was the material originally recorded and do you see it as a continuation of your debut release?

Some songs were recorded in 1978, some later. The small labels that re-released the first Langsyne LP kept asking for more material for a second LP. But there was only what can be heard on ‘Langsyne 2’. More musical diaries than mature productions, with some solo songs.

Yes, you can also see it as a sequel to the first LP. If they had started another production together, with all the experience and possibilities, something like ‘Langsyne 2’ would certainly have come about.

Is there any unreleased material?

No!

Were you or any other member part of any other music projects later on?

In 1993 I composed the music for a multimedia show with Egbert Fröse. It was recorded by studio musicians and released on CD. In the years ’78 and ’79 I played with various Wuppertal musicians in different bands.

What currently occupies your life?

I’ve made 11 solo CD-Rs since 1978 and am in the process of recording a project called “The Wind In The Willows”, based on the Kenneth Grahame children’s book. At some point there should be an album again, just with guitar and vocals. The last dance!?

Klemen Breznikar

Garden Of Delights Official Website