In retrospect, we might suspect that Asmus Tietchens was deliberately leading us up the garden path with the discordant pseudo-pop of his early musical productions. Four albums between 1981-1983 and a handful of individual pieces comprise the "Zeitzeichen" (time signal) phase which, in the words of their creator, was characterized by the implementation of "rhythmic-harmonic set pieces and gaudy record sleeves." These albums do indeed feature elements of the noisy-abstract structures which Tietchens would be in a position to release from 1984 onwards in a more industrial setting, figuring prominently in his main body of work. Yet to understand "Zeitzeichen" as a period of transition, a mere curiosity, would be wide of the mark. Günter Körber released the Biotop, Spät-Europa, In die Nacht, and Litia albums on Sky Records. His label specialized in contemporary electronic music, often cosmic or Kraut-like, but also offered a platform to un-agitated cryptic experiments. Tietchens was well-acquainted with the Sky program, both as a listener and through personal friendships -- with Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Michael Rother; hence, establishing contact presented little difficulty. Sixteen tracks had been produced for Biotop but, in 1980, saw no genuine prospect of a release, so signing to Sky was a logical move. The Sky series is markedly different, surprisingly so, from the debut album Nachtstücke, rife with "soft rhythms and harmonic bliss," as Tietchens acknowledg