Losoul - Care
Bleep43 Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 10:40AM 
LOSOUL - CARE (PLAYHOUSE)
More minimal album reviews? I can only apologise, but Peter Kremeier is one of those producers in this genre who can still turn one’s ear. He’s been making music since 1996, and “Open Door” remains one of my favourite tracks of the genre. However, things had gone a little awry in recent times, and I had felt that his star had waned somewhat. It’s great to hear then that he returns to what he knows best with this album, making stripped down techno records and nothing else.
I like producers that don’t mess about in this respect, and release an album that is made for the dancefloor and nothing else. No frippery, no melancholic interludes, no grandeur, just 9 tracks built for one purpose. The influence of mid-90’s DBX looms large as ever, but once we’re past this small aspect of deference, it’s down to business with tracks varying between 118 and 128 bpm all containing the right amount of tension, eerieness and Kremeier’s particular ability to impose a certain type of sound that marks him out. It’s very difficult in this day and age to sound unique, but his records carry a certain sonic watermark that bear his name. In particular “Lords of Sanity” and “Vacuum Stance” bounce along with a real flourish, the latter reminding me ever so slightly of Drexciya with its raw analogue synth motif. “Sunlite” is reminiscent of his peak period at the end of the last decade, as a warped melodic line dances over 909 beat, whilst “Deuce” grows and mutates with a venomous assurance, whilst never retaining its sleek minimal aesthetic. If anything, his choice of single “Gridlock” is disappointing, because it’s by far the weakest selection on the album.
The quality here is in the space and time in the production, allied with Kremeier’s ability to harness unusual sounds and place them with care (yes whatever) within his simplistic frameworks for tracks. That sounds very simple, but the fact is that very few producers do it with any real flair, or in this case, returning to the aesthetic that they know best.
Toby Frith
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