- Gerald Donald's Dopplereffekt group made a triumphant return in 2013. His solo project, Der Zyklus, re-released the Elektronisches Zeitecho single in the same year, albeit to less fanfare. Der Zyklus singles have appeared steadily throughout the Donald-light early 2010s, but they've tended to contain some of the producer's less outré material. Their muted tone and straightforward electro build can come across as tame in the wake of 2007 Dopplereffekt epic Calabi Yau Space.
Still, the best Der Zyklus tracks transcend their humble materials to become engrossing studies in electro minimalism. In its better moments, Axonometric does just this. "Explosion Diagram" is a sparse assemblage of windswept strings, cut-crystal arps and the simplest of two-note basslines. "Isometric Projection" slows Donald's trademark rubberoid beat to a doped crawl, over which his synths glisten like pinpricks in dark cloth. The EP's other half doesn't fare so well. "Perspective Grid" heads in the same baleful direction, but doesn't go quite far enough—its repeated stop-starts heighten the sense of aimlessness. Likewise, "Plan Oblique"'s mooching bassline and icy synth loop don't quite make a compelling whole. That's the thing about minimalism: one wrong step and you've got, well, not very much of anything.
Tracklist01. Perspective Grid
02. Plan Oblique
03. Isometric Projection
04. Explosion Diagram