The Rorschach Garden – We Are Vanishing (Album – Ant-Zen)
Genre/Influences: Electro-Wave, Minimal-Electro.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Originally set up in 1988 by Philipp Münch and disabandoned in 1996, The Rorschach Garden was reactivated twenty years ago now. Münch is one of the most prolific artists from this scene I know; he has been involved with a countless number of projects (Synapscape being probably his most famous one) and now already strikes back with a new The Rorschach Garden album.
Content: The album features 14 songs, which sound in the classical retro-Electro line of the project. The easy recognizable analogue sound treatments bring the 80s Electro-Wave spirit back to life. The artist reminds us that he belongs to this legendary decade of early electronic music. Mixing a few EBM elements with mainly Electro-Wave/Pop, the songs mix danceable passages with pure space-atmospheres. The songs have been sung in English.
+ + + : I remain an absolute lover of good-old analogue sound treatments. Even if these sounds are pure old-school driven it always sounds magic because of the unique sound. And The Rorschach Garden has always been devoted to the good-old 80s spirit although it never has been an emulation. It remains a refreshing experience in sound although a bit cold and sterile, but enlightening. The album also reveals a few sonic pearls like the ‘harder’ “Concrete City Concrete Walls”, the soft “The Great Fog” and cold, danceable and melodic “Rattlesnake”, which clearly sounds like a potential hit.
– – – : The tracks are somewhat similar while this is not the most recommended album from this project, but in the end The Rorschach Garden will never disappoint you.
Conclusion: A cool retro-Electro sensation.
Best songs: “Rattlesnake”, “Concrete City Concrete Walls”, “The Great Fog”, “Things I Always Wanted To Do”, “A Means To A Start”.
Rate: 8.
Artist: www.facebook.com/TheRorschachGarden
Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official
About The Rorschach Garden
The Rorschach Garden is the electronic project of German musician Philipp Münch, started as a one-man project in 1988 and first distributed through the underground tape scene. The initial phase ended in 1996 while Münch worked on other projects, among them Synapscape. He revived the project in 2001 with a move toward synth-pop and minimal-electro, opening with a 7” single on the Bazooka Joe label. B. Teichner and N. Pohlmann later joined for studio recordings and live appearances.
“We Are Vanishing” was released by Ant-Zen on 21 June 2021 in digital and CD formats. Philipp Münch handled all voices, synths and programming, and Stefan Alt produced the artwork. The fourteen tracks run “Winter Requiem”, “Merry Go Round”, “Concrete City Concrete Walls”, “Temple Dance”, “The Grey Array (In Between Dreams Mix)”, “The Great Fog”, “Rattlesnake”, “End Of The Story”, “A Means To A Start”, “Magic Side”, “Another Way To Say I Love You”, “Things I Always Wanted To Do”, “Drowning In The Lake Of Our Mistakes” and “Glacier”.
The album arrived two months after the EP reviewed here as The Rorschach Garden – Dangerous Isolation Site (EP – Ant-Zen). Münch discussed the project in the November 2021 ‘Click Interview’ with The Rorschach Garden: ‘The Rorschach Garden Always Was And Still Is My Musical Diary’.
Ant-Zen continued the run with The Rorschach Garden – Stealth Black (Album – Ant-Zen) in 2022, The Rorschach Garden – Pleasure Under Pressure (Digital/CD Album – Ant-Zen) in 2025 and The Rorschach Garden – Trust The Process (Digital/CD Album – Ant-Zen) in 2026. Münch also releases under his own name, including Philipp Münch – Plays Ars Moriendi (Album – Ant-Zen).
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