The Field:
Cupid's Head:
Kompakt:
Out Now:
★★★★
No doubt about it - Kompakt's legacy as a ground-breaking, pioneering imprint that stays true to its Teutonic electronic roots will remain firmly intact with Stockholm's Alex Willner's fourth album. It's a peach.
Expanding on his previous aggrandised work, The Field delivers motorik, atmospheric and widescreen pieces that demand headphones as much as dancing shoes, pitching somewhere around Fuck Buttons, Factory Floor and Thomas Fehlmann territory. Whilst little of 'Cupid's Head' will find itself on radio playlists anytime soon (aside from a late-night mix, tucked away in the schedules), its strength is in its layering and, above all, its groove.
The opener 'They Won't See Me' is an obvious example (and highlight), whereby a simple loop and sparse beats build and build before evolving into something quite majestic and hypnotic, without outstaying its welcome. 'Black Sea' takes this template still further by taking eleven minutes to deftly transport you on a gently resonating and relentless excursion across the same cerebral landscape as, say, Jon Hopkins (minus the glitch), Gold Panda (less of the drums), Seefeel and early acid pioneers such as Larry Heard or Bam Bam, mixed with the same cyclical heritage of Terry Riley or Steve Reich. For me, this is the album's centrepiece.
And the rest isn't too shabby - coat your ears and toes with a few high-volume minutes of '20 Seconds of Affection' or the title-track and you're primed and ready for anything, apart from operating machinery or standing on one leg. On the strength of 'Cupid's Dream', Alex Willner is outstanding in his Field.
Cupid's Head:
Kompakt:
Out Now:
★★★★
Expanding on his previous aggrandised work, The Field delivers motorik, atmospheric and widescreen pieces that demand headphones as much as dancing shoes, pitching somewhere around Fuck Buttons, Factory Floor and Thomas Fehlmann territory. Whilst little of 'Cupid's Head' will find itself on radio playlists anytime soon (aside from a late-night mix, tucked away in the schedules), its strength is in its layering and, above all, its groove.
The opener 'They Won't See Me' is an obvious example (and highlight), whereby a simple loop and sparse beats build and build before evolving into something quite majestic and hypnotic, without outstaying its welcome. 'Black Sea' takes this template still further by taking eleven minutes to deftly transport you on a gently resonating and relentless excursion across the same cerebral landscape as, say, Jon Hopkins (minus the glitch), Gold Panda (less of the drums), Seefeel and early acid pioneers such as Larry Heard or Bam Bam, mixed with the same cyclical heritage of Terry Riley or Steve Reich. For me, this is the album's centrepiece.
And the rest isn't too shabby - coat your ears and toes with a few high-volume minutes of '20 Seconds of Affection' or the title-track and you're primed and ready for anything, apart from operating machinery or standing on one leg. On the strength of 'Cupid's Dream', Alex Willner is outstanding in his Field.