E2-E4



E2-E4, released in 1984, is a solo recording by Ash Ra Tempel/Ashra guitarist Manuel Göttsching. The album consists of a minimalistic hour-long progressive electronic track that is subdivided into single tracks according to the stage of the song. The second half of the record is notable for Göttsching's guitar playing. The album is named after the most popular opening chess move 1. e2-e4 (which is expressed in long algebraic notation). A noteworthy pun on E2-E4 exists because the guitar is tuned from E2 (the low string) to E4 (the high string).

Pitchfork ranked it the 79th greatest album of the 1980s. FACT magazine similarly ranked it the 4th greatest album of the 80s. Thump also ranked it the 74th greatest dance album of all time.

Track sections

 * 1) "Quiet Nervousness" - 13:00
 * 2) "Moderate Start" - 10:00
 * 3) "And Central Game" - 7:00
 * 4) "Promise" - 6:00
 * 5) "Queen a Pawn" - 5:00
 * 6) "Glorious Fight" - 3:00
 * 7) "H.R.H. Retreats (With a Swing)" - 9:00
 * 8) "And Sovereignty" - 3:00
 * 9) "Draw" - 2:40

Influence
The album was named as one of the best 1980s albums for its important role in the development of house and techno music of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The song's repetitions and arpeggiations have influenced house, techno, space disco, balearic and even alternative forms of rock music.

Sueño Latino sampled E2-E4 on its 1989 song "Sueño Latino." In 1994, Detroit techno artist Carl Craig released a remix named "Remake" under his alias of Paperclip People; later that year, the German electronic music duo (and label) Basic Channel (Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald) released a "Basic Reshape" remix of "Remake", which would be included on their compilation album BCD under the name of "e2e4 Basic Reshape."

LCD Soundsystem's 45:33 recording from 2006 was inspired conceptually by E2-E4, as indicated by the accompanying artwork and the lengthy duration of the piece.