Apparat - Walls

PavelZagalsky, Aug 11, 2007

Apparat is a German electronic music producer that i first noticed about 3 years ago following a recommendation by a friend that knows her shit.
It was Apparats Duplex album that hit me hard with its hectic yet organised soundscapes that amazed me with the attention to small sounds that Sasha is so well known for. Since that Duplex album Sasha released a collaboration album with Ellen Alien which didnt really catch my ears because it was too much dancefloor oriented in my eyes than his previous more experimental material. So although i approached this release with a grain of skepticism as soon as i found about this album i quickly purchased this album on Beatport.
So what do we have here? Pretty surprising outcome by all means. This album is much more stripped down version of the Apparat that i fell in love with but i guess that the insane sound editing and small glitches were replaced by lots of melodies and walls of strings which gives this album a very cinematic feeling at parts. The album features many vocal tunes that actually fit very well (after the initial shock that is). Raz Ohara contributes with his very unique and warm voice that hints remotely Thom Yorkes melancholy. Those tunes have a Hip Hop rhythm but dont let this shock you cause it really sounds cool, as hard to believe as it is.
Personally it took me almost one month to grasp this one, overcoming the undeniable Soul and Hip Hop influences that some tracks here display. I mean, IDM with Hip Hop, wasnt it the worse idea ever? Not here it isnt.

Bottom line:
Weird album, masterful production with really touching melodies in a few tunes and some really cool songs that youd prefer on Radio over the shit they feed you.

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