CD, Einzeleinheit, 2006
www.einzeleinheit.com
After the experience of reviewing Naarmann and Neiteller’s “Schwester Thelesitis”, I was somewhat surprised to see another album from this outlet land in my review list. Still, having expressed the hope that “Naarland” specifically would be only worth praise, it was rather fit that it’d pass through my player…
Also released by Einzeleinheit, this 2004-2005 work came packaged in what is essentially a folded slip of printed paper with a lonely bit of plastic to hold the CD in place. No cigar for packaging, which admittedly could be better, even for a CDR. Shallowness aside, the content is what matters… and admittedly, this release fares much much better on that part. While the first track is more in the vein of older material, with its glitchy ambient setting, there is a significant increase in the complexity and richness of the sound, which becomes more evident after the – very seamless – transition to the second track, which hints at what is to come. Thus we enter the third part/track, a techno track which brims with energy, while retaining a surprisingly good balance between the minimalist sound of Einzeleinheit releases and the more traditional dark techno sounds. Following that is another slow round in the form of part 4, a glitchy affair where synthwork with frequencies set the pace of the track instead of the percussion which acts in a complementary manner to the more regular bits of synthplay, resulting in a rather cold and brooding sound which however remains remarkably catchy. Ending the release is the fifth part, which starts off in a even more glitchy/ experimental mood than the previous track, but slowly evolves until erupting midtrack in a great display of power electronics, loaded with heavy walls of noise, sharp, contrasting frequencies in a good display of complexity and even melody.
While still far from something that would make it massively into clubs (with the possible exception of the third track), the album is in its whole a definitely praiseworthy release. It is easily worth a listen and leaves good future expectations from both the creative duo and the label.
[7.5/10]
— George Mouratidis