- Israel’s Guy Gerber returns for a second outing on Cocoon after 'This is Balagan', this time joining forces with newbie and fellow Israeli Shlomi Aber. Recently Gerber has been touted as the saviour of the middleground between prog and techno – his 'Stoppage Time' handraiser was a big hit on both sides of the divide towards the tail end of '05, with props from the likes of both Wink and Sasha. But the question is how does someone who put out on Bedrock makes the leap over to Cocoon? Has Sven chosen his wunderkinden wisely?
'Sea of Sand' casts off with droning bass and crackle-pop percussives, adding mystique with arpeggiated synth-organs that help conjure up a lost-in-a-desert feeling. Hmmm... bubbly prog-techno. This is slightly intriguing yet simultaneously vague, but it is different, and quite possibly very suitable warm-up gear for your early evening set.
If by now you've managed not to fall asleep in your sand-pit, 'After Love' is attempts an alternative, but this tastes of Bedrocky salt with the cringe factor set to high: it’s really just drifty, meandering prog with not the slightest traceable element of techno. A track that promises so much but in the end fails to deliver and I am not feeling this one at all.
A dubious effort then from the one time Macabi Tel-Aviv footballer who doesn’t quite bring a touch of the Middle East to Germany. One can forgive Sven for wanting to relive his trance days through Gerber, and Cocoon has always had that sense of magic and conjuration so I can see the allure of signing this one. Hypnotic or yawn-inducing? It's a far cry from 'Stoppage Time' for Gerber though, who provides more bazaar than oasis in a sea of sand.