- Before now, Leafar Legov's solo work (he's one half of the duo Kettenkarussell along with Konstantin) has come in small, irregular doses. Tracks like "Splitting Ways," from 2012 Giegling compilation Futur II, and "Elaine," from 2013's Südstadt, may hint at why this is. Set against solemn timbres and tape-borne textures, Legov's spacious tunes were held up by fussy, slender grooves. On "Elaine," some of the one-shots sounded as fragile as matchsticks. It all points to the work of a painstaking artist, and the log-cabin isolation of Talk, Legov's first solo EP, plays into that, superficially at least.
At the start of "Äther" you can hear an old film reel unspooling. A beautiful piano solo evoking Ryuichi Sakamoto, "Mx Home" is austere and funereal. Talk gets its point across best in these moments; it communicates less clearly through rhythm. The damp shell of "Years" fits neatly into the EP's downcast atmosphere, but it feels like a spare piece in a finished jigsaw. "Ladder" fits the same soundscape onto a hip-hop scaffold. Its power has less to do with the powdery drums than the residual sludge that wraps around them. "Talk" opens the record, and the only rhythm to speak of is a hum that sweeps over organ notes like lapping waves. Little else happens, but Legov is at his most expressive in the quiet spaces.
TracklistA1 Talk
A2 Years
B1 Ladder
B2 Äther
B3 Mx Home