Critic's Review
William Tilland, All Music Guide
This is a limited edition collaborative effort (1000 copies) between Schutze and longtime musical associate Andrew Hulme, who has appeared with Schutze previously in several incarnations of the ethnic/ambient group O Yuki Conjugate. 7 degrees is murkier and more ambiguous than the typical Schutze solo effort, and the seven pieces are filled with unexpected sonic transitions and combinations. Metallic whirring, insect twittering, phase-shifted, stuttering drones, strange voices, short wave radio oscillators, fragments of ethnic chanting and the sounds of rain -- all these elements combine to create subliminal dreamscapes of an uneasy and ambiguous nature. There's an unpredictability to this partnership which is uncharacteristic for Schutze as a solo artist. Alone, he tends to work things out almost to a fault, and his musical visions sometimes have an almost preternatural clarity. But on this CD with Hulme, more chances are being taken. And while things may occasionally get a little arbitrary, the peculiar juxtapositions have their own power, as the two artists push each other into some sonic territories where they probably wouldn't be venturing on their own.
