Die Zauberhafte Welt der Anderen

Brothers Wolfgang and Reinhard Voigt debuted their Voigt & Voigt partnership in 2002. One of that year's releases, "Vision 03," was a robust and storming track that swiftly reached the top tier of beloved Kompakt productions. Further contributions to the label's Speicher series were scattered through 2011. Then, in 2012, the Voigts increased their activity rate by starting the Erdingertrax 12" series. Three volumes of typically heady dancefloor techno preceded this full-length, released in early 2013. Directed more toward home listening, Die Zauberhafte Welt der Anderen bares traces of the Voigts' individual work dating back two decades and adds a dark and often suspenseful cinematic touch. There are a few unexpected curves, like the flute trills in "Sozial" — the shuffling foundation of which recalls Wolfgang's Mint and All output — and the striking Kraftwerk-worthy melody that arises just prior to the four-minute mark of the otherwise stern "Triptychon Nummer 7." "Der Keil NRW," using a loop of live-sounding drums and light peeping tones, has a jaunty quality that prevents the album's sense of dread from being too severe. The album is 11 tracks and 71 minutes in length, but it's more like a ten-track, 45-minute album that adds a 26-minute version of track eight ("Akira"), an ambient loop that is not all that easy on the ears.