Polar - Out Of The Blue

Global warming is a disturbing phenomenon, but is it responsible for melting Polar’s ice caps as well? On his third album, OUT OF THE BLUE, it sounds as if he’s moved away from cold beatscapes: instead, “Love is in the Ear” is surprisingly warm with his house-tempo breaks. “The Other Side” has a faster tempo, but it’s far from the iciness of 37C AND FALLING or the sci-fi of STILL MOVING, and the more ambient leanings of “Lectric” might confuse you further. The hidden track after “Out of Range” is completely liquid downtempo. Some ice floes (the title track, “Inventour”) still appear here and there, but the electro-tinged “Safari” might make you think Polar has moved a few continents south, and “Behind the Scenes” continues the electro vibe. So this change isn’t entirely out of the blue after all; maybe we’ve seen the signs of global warming for years now.

'Out Of The Blue' is quite different from the 'usual' Polar's material. From my point of view, this CD proves his interest in ambient and atmospheric sound. Polar also tried to make tracks as much harmonious as possible and used here a great variety of instruments and plug-ins. So the album seems variable. This one is, definitely the beginning of a new conception, the appearing of a new branch in his work. I recommend trying this one after listening to his '37 degrees' or 'Hidden Rooms' to compare and feel the changes.

I'm afraid categorization eludes me. Is this IDM? Lo-Fi? Drum-and-bass?
I suppose the DnB beats on some of the tracks will force it into that category, but the clean synths, mixing, and sense of space remind me more of IDM.
Regardless it's a fine fine piece of work from any technical perspective. Emotionally it hits me somewhere between LTJ Bukem and Biosphere.
Track 7 - Inventour actually has a David Sylvian "Gone to Earth" beat and mood.
The sparse yet emotionally charged synths also seem to borrow something from detroit's more soulful aspects.
Is this music i've heard in my dreams? Or before i was born?