- Traumprinz returns with two EPs.
- With Forgotten World 1, we're presented with something rare: an average record from the artist known as Traumprinz, Prince Of Denmark, DJ Healer and other aliases. It feels unsporting to pick holes in the catalogue of someone who is, deservedly, one of the best-loved figures in modern house and techno, but on occasion the German artist has been guilty of pushing his brand of sentimentality too far, as heard most recently on the two Lost Lovesongs mixes. What's curious about Forgotten World 1, though, is that rather than being too much, it features four dub techno tracks that don't really do or say much of anything.
"Can I Ride (Extended Cut)" is OK. It has a little grit and purpose in its beat and synth chords. But if it'd been released by a less feted artist, it likely would have been passed over. "Anotherchicagohooker" (really?), which also originally surfaced on a mix from Prince Of Denmark in 2012, is built from similar stuff, and features a sample of Timothy Leary, the late, divisive LSD advocate, asking if Ralph is ready to die and be reborn. It's an uninspired engagement with an ongoing theme in Traumprinz's music. The syncopated claps in "Graduation" perk up another groove built on swelling dub techno chords, but it's not enough to jerk the thing fully to life.
Golden Baby is yet another new alias for Traumprinz. It's long seemed obvious that he's relaxed about the delineation of sounds between his projects, which is further confirmed by the very different character of the second—and far better—Forgotten World EP. It's everything that the first record isn't: dynamic, varied, affecting. Where the release, so many years later, of "Can I Ride" and "Anotherchicagohooker" feels like a hard-drive clearance sale, the release of "Aciid," which also appeared on that Prince Of Denmark mix, and "Ta Reine," heard on the 2018 DJ Healer mix Planet Lonely, seems like the timely drop of music that's matured nicely.
"Aciid"'s titular sound plays off superbly against the gentle pulse of the kick and the thick washes of strings, while "Ta Reine," with its rattling hi-hats and vivid atmosphere, is dub techno at its sharpest. A pretty xylophone line and an odd broken beat lead "Rainbowcoalition," and if it weren't for the contemplative strings, "What A Strange Life" could have been something from the early days of the leading minimal label Perlon. Front to back, Forgotten World 2 is awash with the emotional moods and oddball creative decisions that make Traumprinz a cult artist.
TracklistForgotten World 1
A1 Can I Ride (Extended Cut)
A2 Untitled
B1 Anotherchicagohooker
B2 Graduation
Forgotten World 2
A1 Ta Reine
A2 Aciiid
B1 Rainbowcoalition
B2 What A Strange Life