Solyst:
The Steamage:
Bureau B:
April 8th 2016:
CD/LP:
Kreidler's drumming polymath Thomas Klein resurrects his SØLYST moniker for another album of leftfield cyclical electronica with a human edge. However, rather than press buttons on a keyboard ad hoc, Klein has enlisted the services of an abandoned piano before extracting various sounds from it and feeding them through his studio blender.
With rhythm not surprisingly very much at the forefront of the SØLYST manifesto, it's left to the many machines to yield simple atmospherics and portentous progressive synth hooks. Tracks like Autumn and Eulenflug (Owl Flight) don't necessarily reflect the pieces' titles but do ably demonstrate why Klein's attention to experimental detail is nothing less than engaging.
Does Mount Eiffel sound like an iconic but ageing structure in the French capital? Non. Atomium, the quintessential ex-EXPO construction in Brussels? Idem. But this doesn't matter in the slightest - both are exemplary little grooves in their own right and reflect the industrious nature of both architectural landmarks. As for the closing Shelf, here we have insistent drones and echoed beats providing drive and propulsion as only SØLYST knows how.
The Steamage is far from a moist-eyed recollection of the past. Rather it's a place where analogue meets digital with a mechanical heritage at its core and sci-fi in its midst. Terrific.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
The Steamage:
Bureau B:
April 8th 2016:
CD/LP:
With rhythm not surprisingly very much at the forefront of the SØLYST manifesto, it's left to the many machines to yield simple atmospherics and portentous progressive synth hooks. Tracks like Autumn and Eulenflug (Owl Flight) don't necessarily reflect the pieces' titles but do ably demonstrate why Klein's attention to experimental detail is nothing less than engaging.
Does Mount Eiffel sound like an iconic but ageing structure in the French capital? Non. Atomium, the quintessential ex-EXPO construction in Brussels? Idem. But this doesn't matter in the slightest - both are exemplary little grooves in their own right and reflect the industrious nature of both architectural landmarks. As for the closing Shelf, here we have insistent drones and echoed beats providing drive and propulsion as only SØLYST knows how.
The Steamage is far from a moist-eyed recollection of the past. Rather it's a place where analogue meets digital with a mechanical heritage at its core and sci-fi in its midst. Terrific.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆