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NBHAP Rating: 4,2/5
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[one_half last=”yes”]BLOND:ISH
Welcome To The Present
Release-Date: 23.10.2015
Label: Kompakt
Tracklist:
01. Shy Grass
02. Los Pensamientos
03. Lucy’s Affair
04. Endless Games
05. Nada Brahma
06. Moonvalley
07. Velvet Wave
08. Myein Caravan
09. Jupiter & Jaguar
10. Inner Jungle
11. It Starts Now
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Dreamworld instead of dancefloor
Usually when it comes to a new release on acclaimed Cologne-based techno institution Kompakt you know what to expect. Tender electronic beats with club vibes and playfulness are always the key elements of quality. But in the course of the past two decades the roster of the label institution allowed itself quite diversified releases. Anstascia D’Elene Corniere and Vivie-ann Bakos aka BLOND:ISH are now delivering the latest proof for that with their debut full-length Welcome To The Present. Following far too many EP’s and singles over the past five years it truly was about time for a full album. Thankfully, the release does not automatically work as a concept-less alignment of club tunes but as a really diverse and surprising album that wasn’t exclusively produced for the dancefloor.
Further down the rabbit hole
The opener Shy Grass couldn’t be further away from the club environment. Crashing waves, laughing children and gentle guitar play introduce us to the album before sweet synthesizer sounds and an ultra smooth downbeat take us right to the beach. Perfect material to memorize the summer. Les Pensamientos takes the listener further into tropical bliss with its haunting and tender ambient sound. The gentle guitar in Lucy’s Affair takes us even deeper in to the nocturnal twilight. Fans of NICOLAS JAAR will highly appreciate this tune. By now you should have noticed that Welcome To The Present is quite an unusual debut album. It takes BLOND:ISH four tracks before they finally unleash a – still quite tender – minimal techno beat in Endless Game. Right from that song the record continuously speeds up. Nada Brahma is finest eclectic techno material in the style of ROBAG WRUHME while Moonvalley and Velvet Wave create an almost psychedelic vibe, a dreamlike urgency that slowly but steady sucks you in.
Tropical delirium
BLOND:ISH aren’t interested to fulfil any expectations raised after their previous releases, that much is for sure. The Canadian duo designed their debut album as one big story with each track being part of it. They mix traditional instruments with electronic sounds, use field recordings and polyglot vocals, resulting in quite an experience for all fetishists of good sound. Inner Jungle, for example, is a really sweet combination of traditional techno structures with exotic sound elements. This is a journey, right from the start to its floating end in the form of the spoken-word-like ambient outro of It Starts Now. BLOND:ISH deliver intoxicating sounds with a sweet vibe and far too many things to discover. Welcome To The Present is more than a hidden gem in the long list of great 2015 debut albums. Never judge a book by its cover or a band by its label: this tropical delirium deserves your attention.
Acclaimed Canadian electronic dup BLOND:ISH detaches itself from the dancefloor on their debut Welcome To The Present, delivering a truly hypnotic and diversified listening experience
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