Only a couple of issues ago I was saying how the remarkable Berlin label which has taken the minimal sound to another far out level should release a compilation drawn from the stunning array of twelve-inches it’s been unleashing – on vinyl only! – over the past two years. Instead of a heartless digi-fest of highlights, The label’s Mathias Kaden and Onur Ozer have tried to recreate the electric vibe of the Vakant parties at the city’s Watergate club – and come up with one of the compilations of the year. Mathias Kaden and Onur Ozer mix up a selection from the singles and throw in unreleased tackle like Onur’s atmospheric closer ‘Untitled’. The Vakant sound as propagated by these two, Tolga Fidan, Robag Wruhme, Spenza and the mighty Alex Smoke takes the now-familiar minimal template and put it through a unique, visionary blender with alarmingly fresh and indeed brain melting results. For example, Kaden’s ‘Train’ mines a subterranean pulse strata which is beyond deep while Onur’s ‘Gizeh’ creaks and purrs like aliens on valium. The bass is the heartbeat, all enveloping and rumbling while the toppings veer from extra-terrestrial melodies to the sheer queaziness of Onur’s ‘Gizeh’. It is a new sound and it’s now captured on CD in all its warped beauty. Essential for anyone interested in electronic developments.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs