[Reviewed by Peter Marks]
There’s something going on in the ether. I’ve been enjoying Analept’s previous album for some years now and suddenly he appears on Xtraplex, not a place I’d have expected to find him! The sound he makes stands in stark contrast to the rest of the label’s roster and is so damn infectious it’ll worm into your head after just one listen. Those who run this label are clearly combing the wires to locate ever more unconventional artists, there can be no other explanation possible here. But onto the material comprising ‘Sternweite’, have no doubts about what it is designed to make you do.
Move.
And it isn’t just straight up 4/4 coupled to monotonous basslines he’s proffering. He strides through his tracks with a definite purpose; strong melodies are just the start, this guy has a an instinctual ability to shift from the alluring glitter of high key lines right down into the most guttural low end workouts cut from truly odd combinations of auditory fabric.
This is an electronic album of exceedingly high caliber which doesn’t dawdle about waiting for rudimentary progressions to get underway; from the start of each piece he at first lures and then ensnares our ears, fastidiously introducing detail upon detail so that in the end it is more a puzzle we’re obsessively fixated on rather than just mere music to be consumed.
How long had they been watching him. Who else are they tracking even now as I type this. Questions to be answered another day and they can wait while I’m hearing what Analept let creep out of his machines. ‘Sternweite’ has a stealthy feel to it as though it doesn’t want to attract too much attention, because despite the bombastic tendencies displayed this is at it’s heart a very humble creation. How easy it could have been to find a nicely vapid voice to provide pop sugar but instead the focus is on driving electronics and blissful transitions. Guillaume Bacart’s penchant for complex design is cunningly disguised amidst remarkably diverse beats and precision programming.
Keep your eye on this one.
Analept – Sternweite
Xtraplex, xpl032
Digital 2016
Santa Sangre 