Apart from the relentless quality of her Bpitch roster, Ellen’s solo albums have charted their own unique chorus which strays way beyond the confines of techno and even the new minimal blueprint she helped to forge. This fourth excursion, created during and inspired by winter in Berlin, injects soul, endless shadows and, most importantly, Ellen’s own personality into her highly-personal music. Shards of vocal waft across tracks like the haunted ‘Bim’ but by the ethereal ‘Zauber’ the music is weaving an intoxicating strain of modern space-classical, although ‘Its’ concocts a spooked, whooshy shuffle which might nudge the dancefloor. But that seems to be the least of her concerns on this highly-personal statement. ‘Frieda’ is especially poignant with its breathy vocal recalling Nico’s groundbreaking work with John Cale. It’s at this point you realise how far this music has come and who’s played a major part in its glorious progression.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
