- It's easy to observe an obsession with nature at its most windswept and mysterious coursing through Christian Löffler's work. Not only is it readable on a surface level—the label he co-runs, Ki, is named after the Japanese word for tree, and he illustrated a recent podcast for Alpha-ville with close-cropped photographs of twisted branches and milky seas—but you can also hear it in the particular German strain of Romanticism ingrained within his detail-rich techno.
A-side "Aspen" wheezes into motion with a melancholy organ refrain before the fragments of found sound begin to gather, like flotsam in the breeze. At first, the kick drum is hesitant and syncopated, before unfolding into a muted, 4/4 push augmented by woodblock and handclaps. When the beat withers away "Aspen" begins to unfold into something special: brittle wind chimes and glassy xylophone twinkle blissfully before the beat drops back. There's some kinship with the organic-sounding textures of Pantha du Prince, but here the feeling is more static, serene even. "Aspen" evokes a mood, then stands back and ruminates upon it.
B-side "Signals" employs the same colour palette and ideas as "Aspen," leaving "Undefined Season" to delve a little deeper. Melancholy synths oscillate between minor chords while the deep, reverberating beat sounds like the liquid thud of the heart. When organic flourishes appear they are absorbed into the percussive thrust by the gravitational pull of the bassline. Understated yes, but to listen to Aspen is to be pulled headlong into Löffler's world.
Tracklist A Aspen
B1 Undefined Season
B2 Signals