Markus Sommer - Offenbach Heat

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  • The Frankfurt-Offenbach area has been home to key dance music operators for decades, and Markus Sommer is part of the latest generation to emerge from the region with a distinct sound. Along with the likes of Traffic and Hardworksoftdrink, Sommer and his peers have spent the last couple of years refining a style that draws from electro, breaks, UK garage, early IDM, deep house and minimal, condensing a taste for strange records into tracks that betray classicist cues yet sound distinctly of the moment. This spectrum's weirder side was recently excavated by Sommer and Phil Evans (they run Pager Records together) on an untitled double-pack. Offenbach Heat is decidedly less obtuse, with subtle-but-sunny deep house on one side and skittish garage on the other. A softly phasing cymbal adds a crystal sheen to the pads in "Fotwantey," which, despite a whomping sub and spiky snare accents, is pretty chilled. The title track is similar in its back half, but a nimble bassline and stripped chassis of drums and organ stabs make for a more loopy—and somewhat less distinctive—denouement to the first side. "Fucked Up Dinosauri" balances the calm of the first two tracks with skipping breaks and a zany melody. It alternates between syncopated and 4/4 passages, emulating the pay-off expected in DJ sets that intersperse linear productions with broken beats. Sommer dials the mood back down on "Trip To The Moon," which is particularly blue and smokey. You could almost call it loungey if not for another weighty dose of sub and choppy snares. Those elements, along with the soft-edged pads, are the record's production hallmarks, and their consistency is a strength or a weakness, depending on your taste. Some of Sommer's other records have more variety and take greater risks. But the tracks on Offenbach Heat are uplifting and are should find fans far beyond the shores of the Main.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Fotwantey A2 Offenbach Heat B1 Fucked Up Dinosauri B2 Trip To The Moon
RA