Translation of the German review:

STELLA is the fourth studio album by the group YELLO, consisting of the two musicians Boris Blank and Dieter Meier. Blank worked on it from 1983 in the YELLO studio on Lake Zurich in Switzerland. In 1984, the two began mixing the album at the German Hartmann Digital Studio in Untertrubach. After ten days, they stopped work as the sound left a lot to be desired. Blank now mixed the music in his analog studio in Zurich and later remarked: "All the balances were wrong and the dynamics were lost, so I did a lot of remixes in Zurich to save the album". The two tracks Desert Inn and Angel No remained in the digital version due to time constraints.

The electropop duo delivers songs on STELLA that are highly experimental. A special feature are the sometimes daring vocal passages, accompanied by very sophisticated sound confections. Every musical detail follows a high level of precision without appearing sterile. Blank and Meier have a wonderful understanding of how to deal with the mood of the listener. It is fascinating that the two need a song length of only three to five and a half minutes to open up paths into a completely new musical dimension. Each song has its own theme and mood. For me, the album STELLA is a milestone in the development of electronic music.

Horch House has brought a highly professionally manufactured product to the market. The sturdy black cardboard slipcase contains two yellow plastic tape archive boxes with the two master tape copies on RTM SM 900 tape on two aluminum reels printed for this release. A black envelope contains information about the album and large-format images.

The pressure and energy of the music on the very high-quality master tape copy are fantastic. Despite the sometimes densely woven musical passages, every last nuance in the sound is reproduced exactly as the two sound magicians created it in the YELLO studio on Lake Zurich (*). As a listener, you can take a seat in the famous sound master's chair. The master tape copy of Horch House is the mega-high-flyer, which I can recommend to all tape lovers without reservation.

In October 2023, I visited Jürg Schopper (SCHOPPER AG/Triston Master Recordings) in Switzerland, met Alex Hefter (Curator/Creative Director) and asked questions about the upcoming release:

Claus: How is the STELLA tape release planned?

Alex: The project has several facets. I'm curating the YELLO Mastertape project and also leading the collaboration between YELLO and REVOX, who are launching a limited edition of ten units of the B77 MKII tape machine. I developed the design with Boris Blank. The machines will have a special paint finish and a special digital YELLO counter and will be hand-signed by Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. REVOX has worked with us to exquisitely restore ten of these legendary machines, renewing, refining and customizing components. Every detail, from the precisely manufactured sound heads to the carefully calibrated motors, has been perfected in the REVOX manufactory.

Jürg: This will certainly be the most professional tape release ever. Alex has made a video for the promotion. There will be advertising in the press and on various channels. Together with Tommy Schneider, I will be at the Horch House stand at HIGH END 2024. On Saturday, May 11, 2024, at least one of the gentlemen from YELLO will be there.

Claus: How did you create the production tape?

Alex: Since I know Boris well, I came across the original master tape from STELLA. It has a speed of 30 IPS (76 cm/s) and fantastic quality. We copied it down here at Jürg's place.

Jürg: They delivered the quarter-inch copy. We copied it 1:1 between two STUDER C37s without an equalizer or any other equipment. The copy sounds exactly like the original. It is now the production tape that is delivered to Horch House to make the master tape copies.

Alex: We played the copy to Boris Blank. He was more than enthusiastic (*).

Jürg: I know this music inside out, I grew up with this music. I've never heard anything like this YELLO tape before. I know thousands of tapes. You hear incredible things on this tape, you can't get that on a record.

Claus: Thank you very much for your answers.

Songs:

1. Desire

2. Vicious Games

3. Oh Yeah

4. Desert Inn

5. Stalakdrama

6. Koladi-ola

7. Domingo

8. Sometimes (Dr. Hirsch)

9. Let Me Cry

10. Ciel Ouvert

11. Angel No

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)