- An on-form label and artist show that techno still has a bright future.
- In a review of A Series Of Shocks, Tony Naylor described Tobias Freund's unique ability to marry rough-and-ready techno with crystalline sound design, making his music "satisfying at home and likely to make your heart burst on the dance floor." "1972," the title track off Freund's latest EP for Ostgut Ton, goes even further, bringing the emotional intensity of the club into the living room. The song isn't more than a panning synth, rolling snares, a kick, and some strings. But like the best of his back catalogue, Freund creates a maze of light and air that feels—and sounds like—a cathartic closing montage.
This isn't to say the record is melodramatic. The A-side's romance is as sincere as it is curious. This is especially true of "Schism," which recalls Barker's recent shimmering techno. Ostgut has shaped the sound of techno for the last decade, both in and outside Berghain. It's telling, then, that their most memorable recent releases are not defined by weighty shifts in barometric pressure, but by lightness. As techno rolls into middle age, it's nice to see someone who has been there from the early days still gazing out the window into the future.
Tracklist01. 1972
02. Schism
03. The Wisdom Of No Escape
04. Electric Storm