There are benefits to owning your own label. Besides being able to sign friends and newcomers alike, while heading up Lucidlow, Nadja Lind and Helmut Ebritsch have also been able to exert creative control over their Klartraum project to their own exacting specifications. Their last studio album 'Enneagram' was a conceptual piece that spanned four releases over the course of the year. Now their fourth album 'Void Universes' sees a similar concept, inspired by the teachings of Stephen Wolinsky, with each a quartet of releases themed to each one of the aforementioned universes.
We've had 'Energy Void' and 'Space Void' editions to get us thoroughly warmed up, and now it is time to go a little eyes down with the deep and dubby 'Time Void' edition. This release feels keenly poised for the time of year, where the afternoon sun has a desperate edge, chills creep into the early evening, and those shadows start to stretch earlier and earlier.
We lead off with the awesomely atmospheric 'The No-State State', muted and atmospheric with it's klaxon-esque bass note that peals out over the track. It's a dominating presence - commanding, demanding your absolute attention to the groove and utterly effective in its use. Following this, 'White Lady' conjures an image of a ghostly apparition wrapped in mist with its frozen ethereal tones. As you move closer, you realise she isn't quite the wraith you imagined as the mist parts to reveal a warm inner core.
'Animal Kingdom' uses satisfyingly hollow and wooden percussive hits to add a little tumble to the intricate groove. Tribal chants permeate the breakdown as the track rouses itself for widescreen final stretch. Finale 'Travel Pussy' then takes 'Time Void' home with a resolving emotion. Hidden behind the twang of bass and perky beats are the subtlest of details - fleeting melodies twinkle and bend out of sight just as you try to grasp them with your fingers, a deftly dropped stretch of 303 embellishes the final third, and distant percussive effects filter up and down in prominence.
Coming out on 2nd October on Beatport, keep an ear to the ground for the final editions. Plus check back on the already released 'Energy Void' and 'Space Voice' editions.