Dopplereffekt & Objekt - Hypnagogia

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  • Objekt must have been pretty pleased when he landed this split release with Dopplereffekt. After all, a certain strand of the Berlin producer's output proudly displays the influence of Detroit electro (think of the steely futurism of "Fishbone"), and his DJ sets make frequent sorties into Drexciyan territory. Even beyond this line of influence, however, the two tracks on Hypnagogia work wonderfully together. Each is an electro epic, unafraid to make grand gestures with the form. And each is masterfully executed, primed to induce chills of either dread or euphoria on the dance floor. Dopplereffekt's "Delta Wave" leans towards the former, its skeletal beat serving as little more than a vehicle for icy cascades of synthetic strings and voices. Each time that grandiose chord progression wheels back around it's thicker and more intoxicating. As with the best sci-fi dystopias, there is something oddly seductive to the horror. Objekt's "Ganzfeld" is only fractionally lighter in outlook. His best-received tracks often indulge his playful side (the distended bass wobbles of "Cactus" or "Agnes Demise"'s juddering midpoint meltdown). Here, although the tempo has been ratcheted up to 150 BPM, the vibe is fairly reserved. Granted, there are moments of overload—the licks of steroidal funk bass; the sweeping chords that periodically bum-rush the mix. But mostly we remain in stasis, anchored by a single forlorn bass figure. The devil is in the micro-detail—glimmering atmospherics, miniature hi-hat fusillades, moments of glitched confusion—all of it, as ever, handled with a finesse that borders on the virtuosic. Should Donald decide to retire any time soon, he can rest assured that the future of electro is in safe hands.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Dopplereffekt – Delta Wave B1 Objekt – Ganzfeld
RA