Ruhig blut

Timo Reuber's second solo album is a case of LP over CD. The two 20-plus-minute tracks are so different in styles, moods, and dynamics that it is preferable to actually need to get up, walk to the turntable, and flip the record in order to snap out of "A" before "B" hits you. Even the extra CD track, "Schlaf Gut" (seven minutes), does not provide a strong enough argument for choosing the CD. "A" starts with almost nothing and builds up to very little more. Shimmering electronic sounds oscillate delicately, creating entrancing textures. It is not static, but remains very soft spoken, ambient. This cloud-surfing piece comes to an end after 21 minutes. "B" embodies the complete opposite of "A": beat driven, harsh, urban, polluted. Shimmering becomes scintillating and gradually escalates to blinding. The electronic sounds bouncing around grow more and more compressed, the mixer overloads, the listener finds himself in the middle of a techno-noise piece that negates any peaceful effect taken from the first track. A short pause lures him — it's only the eye of the storm; things get noisier afterwards. These pieces are worlds apart, yet they stem from a single approach that limits the possible gestures in a particular piece. All the while, the album's title warns you not to take the proposition too seriously (Ruhig Blut roughly translates to Keep Cool). After the sonic mayhem of "B," "Schlaf Gut" is barely audible, its soft soundscape being even more minimal than the first track. ~ François Couture, Rovi