this project was founded in 1993 by p. münch and a. schramm. the aim of tg's is a very dense, ritual-ambient one. in 1995 a. börner joined this project. they made several interesting live-performances all over germany. actually tg's is organized as a loose collective around a. schramm with several friends, so the sound-variety has become enormous, but always in the ritual sector. old fairytales, nature, magic places and the unexplainable are their main inspirations.

templegarden's discography:
1995: ov, 7", ant-zen
1995: split with cruel punishments, c-60, fich art
1997: live hh, c-90, nuit et broulliard
1998: split with asche, 10", spectre
1999: culture vs. nature, cd, ant-zen
2002: done rooms, cd, ant-zen

templegarden's . done rooms . cd . act 126

limited to 506 copies. all material recorded in thedeepbluesea 1996-2001. tg's appearance for this release: andrea börner, andreas brinkert, bertrand brüningk, andreas glöckner, leigh hunt, tim kniep, philipp münch, andreas schramm.
their second cd release 'done rooms' sounds as if it has been recorded in a cave or crypt; treated voices, hypnotising rhythms and atmospheric soundscapes mix with dark non threatening aural sculptures. this is an addendum to 'regular' spiritual music, and is extremely removed from boring 'new age' sounds.

tracklist: lure. blackbone & bare. on the ground ov the white can. illousiana. weeping mountains high. mushhole waltz. winterearth

reviews

side-line #39
templegarden's raison d'etre so far has been creating ritualistic ambient music and with this new album they stick to their sound and formula. utilizing amongst others members of morgenstern, asche and synapscape, they produce high quality dark soundscapes echoing from deep fissures in the earth's crust, abysmally dank and ominous, saturated with tribal rhythms, treated vocals and atmospheric drones. so far so good, but i simply grow tired of this sound very quickly simply because it's been so done over the years (and everybody owes to lustmord as the ur-source of it all) that it simply does not excite anymore. it is by no means a bad album, quite the contrary, but it doesn't add any new element or perspective to the genre that i simply cannot understand why people keep on making the same music. fans of the genre will find this to be a veritable album full of dense sounds and hypnotic layers (and due to its limitation to 506 copies it will be sold out quickly regardless of what i have to say), but the genre itself is stagnant and thus i have yet to wait for something that steers the music out of its old school ghetto. (till)

orkus 02/2002
asche, morgenstern, synapscape - die acht aktuellen mitglieder des projekts templegarden's sind in der industrial-szene größtenteils keine unbekannten mehr. und das anfang der 90er als nachfolgeprojekt von ars moriendi gegründete templegarden's beschäftigt sich im gegensatz zu den anderen bands der beteiligten nicht mit typischem industrial noise, sondern mit finsteren ritualklängen und nebelverhangenen ambientlandschaften. done rooms ist außergewöhnlich stimmungsvoll und meditativ. die geheimnisvollen beschwörungsgesänge, die klirrend kalten flächensounds, die monotonen tribal-trommeln und das bedrohlich dumpfe dröhnen, das aus der tiefe eines alptraums zu uns heraufzudringen scheint, entführen den hörer in eine archaische welt, die einen nicht mehr so schnell loslässt. naturreligiöse spiritualität, interpretiert mit industriellen mitteln: wer ambient- und ritualmusik liebt sollte umgehend zuschlagen, denn es wird nur knapp über 500 exemplare dieses kleinods geben. (alexander maciol)

black #27
das ex-ars morendi-team der projekte um synapscape, asche und morgenstern betreibt ja auch noch recht zwanglos und sporadisch das gemeinsame projekt templegarden's und nach der "culture vs. nature"-cd vor rund drei jahren liegt nun mit "done rooms" ein zweites album mit gesammelten material zwischen 1996 bis 2001 vor. geändert hat sich am archaischen loop-sound von templegarden's allerdings nicht und so werden wieder absolut atmosphärisch die verschiedenen spielarten von unterwasser-, landschafts- und mystik-ambient ausgelotet bzw. in rauhe formen gegossen. verpackt ist das über 70 minütige album in einen weinroten pappfolder und passend zum hörgenuß wäre auch eine ähnlich gefärbte flasche oder vielleicht doch ein tütchen...? (m.f.)

re:mote induction
done rooms is the second templegarden's full length cd to be released by ant-zen, though the collection of artists that make up templegarden's have released a number of things over the years that they have been working together. part of the whole fische art family templegarden's in this instance is made up of andrea borner, andreas brinkhert, bertrand buningk, andreas glockner, leigh hunt, tim kniep, philipp munch and andreas schramm. like culture vs nature before it done rooms comes in a card sleeve, though more of a cd sized, sturdy sleeve than the wax sealed envelope of the former. across the 8 tracks done rooms is an impressive collection of cinematic isolationist tracks, deep ritualistic rhythms mixing with deep dark ambient bases. lure is the first room, starting with a low horn, which extracts into a drone, playing out as it is joined by a primal vocal sound, suggestive somehow of aboriginal dream rituals. the feel is rich and warm, complimented and expanded by the deep percussive strokes that play into these depths. the mix of horns and drones and voices, strokes and percussion is deeply seductive. development is slow, logical and complimentary, the result striking and successful cinematic isolationism. stripping into low waves we have blackbone & bare, a chime extracting into a sustained sound, which is cut through by a high guitar chord - sheer and strident as a voice, bas wallowing around that line. reverbed and spatial, expansive sound volumes at work, caught deep in the sensory appreciation of this composition. thickening, haunted, a voice from mordor talks of two towers, like galadriel's mirror on culture vs nature this is clearly a tolkien reference - well timed with the release of the lord of the rings film. a prophetic voice delivered and bass thickens further, waves in radiant motions, percussive rattles mixed in. blackbone & bare coalescing, enveloping. a dirge of didgeridoo depths, low and possessed by bass calls us to on the ground ov the white can. flares are added, strike and ignite. metallic squall. bass maintained regardless of the finest lustmordian patterns. increase squall, stellar ominosity and reverberant potential, strokes in slow spiralled dynamics. stripping to an awkward repeating crackle over low throbbing percussion, nights thunder building. tribal rhythms weave into the night driven and hard, insect voices cry out and frenzy strokes through shadow. energies spent, we come back down, harmonic waves layered in textured drones. echoes and dark streamers play with a line metallic squeal in illousiana. developing into a corridor pulse, a tunnel opening before us. high drone resolving with liquid rhythms and sub surface pulses. strings play in low strokes of vibrancy, orchestral drones against institutional echoes. beats pad steps in time to the squeaky wheel of some trolley. a liquid thickening of senses expressed in tactile ripples. a deep bass tone rolls out in weeping mountains high, an expansive sound with streaks a periodic rush of passage through these welling depths. struck beats play with a growl of reverb. chords strain, wavering tones through the bass and compressed rhythm repetition. sharpening, piercing in peaks; these chords contrasting the more freely swirling depths - describing a sense of unease, of being on edge. a tighter note structure comes up from below, a taut harmonic, seductive in its connected tones, revealing detail with a slow rise. this flows into mushhole waltz, and the advent of low pulses. feminine choral voices carry though, like siren calls bringing the listener in. male chorus offers a deepening of sound, the whole forming waves of sounds, radiating into the night. approaching 4 minutes a loose rhythm is added, fleshing out the piece, little yelped voices adding to the feel/sense of ritual. a guitar song plays, coming as a drift from moment of alarm call. sound scaping with an increasing presence of vocal samples and driven by the more pronounced, but still slow paced, rhythm. mushhole waltz swirls, capturing some feel of a forest at night. the rhythms primordial rituals, adding to the environmental sense. the contribution of the vocal chatter contrasts this feel, giving a more urban sense - the voices periodically packed in there. a compressed pulse leads to the metallic, twittered bird calls of winterearth, then we get into the depths of primordial soup. a sense of darkness, bubbling marshes and nocturnal calls. thick dark scapes contrasted by subtle little blips, which provide a suggestion of chimes. as the bass rumbles and wells we get the increasing influence of a wind melody, notes wan and wave like with their drone properties clear. forming an almost sighing regularity within winterearth, which has become a multitude of clear layers meshing into an enveloping whole. clanks or rhythm slow clatters beneath the increased signal of bleeping details. another level of description in this particular done room. while most of the last few tracks have flowed in a near seamless fashion there is an actual pause before we are into the finale of araknesh. announced by the purring breathes of something in the dark, creaking over bass presence. whispered bass notes play as strokes, giving an impression of slowed, perhaps reversed voices, in sluggish fashion. other elements provide melody round the edges while words are spoken in echoes - deep incantation against the taut weave. esoteric and mysterious while attractively seductive. faded ripples are cast off like the awakening from a dream. (ptr)