- Broken techno, Munich style.
- Konrad Wehrmeister is a gifted German producer who, since debuting in 2013, has somehow managed to remain relatively unknown. He's released a range of music, but most of his tracks mine the same ultra-broken atmospheric techno of his first tune, "Schniekdub," which debuted a sound that felt inspired by the style of fellow Munich-area producers like Skee Mask and Zenker Brothers. Following a track on last month's Bias Jams 3 (Munich Edition) compilation, he cements his relationship with the Zenkers' Ilian Tape label with 5050, the latest release in its more abstract ITX series. Giving equal attention to rhythm and atmosphere, it's one of the strongest entries in the series.
As with many ITX records, 5050 is split between ambient and rhythm-based tunes. "Eins" and "Movie" are beatless, mashing haunted piano chords, tape hiss and bleeps into smoothing ambient. But the best moments come when the drums are banging. It's hard to go past "Overdose," where the broken percussion rattles around the grid, chugging like a wounded freight train on the verge of disintegration. The background synths mumble and groan, adding real feeling to the chaos below. "TDA" revisits the dubwise sound of Nutty Dubs, Wehrmeister's excellent 2015 EP on Public Possession. It's another standout moment on an EP full of them.
TracklistA1 Eins
A2 GeigerCounter
A3 Movie
B1 TDA
B2 Overdose
B3 Vestak-01