- Techno four ways.
- Over the course of two albums, Mathilde Nobel has become Rotterdam label Nous'klaer Audio's in-house experimental pop auteur. Her second LP, 2022's Founds on Land, was a masterpiece of melancholic whimsy. Over soundscapes of samples, field recordings, forlorn synths and undulating chords, she disassembled and reassembled her falsetto in the vein of artists like Julia Holter. But Nobel also added hints of club weight to her tracks: the breakbeat that barges in on "Bliss," those trap snare rolls on "Thanking My Angels." These flourishes are the perfect entryway for Marcel Dettmann, who taps in with four new remixes of tracks from Founds on Land.
Dettmann's two takes on "I Eat Air" are the best cuts here. The original starts with an airy, xylophone-like melody before Nobel adds in some broken drum pulses. Dettmann takes the track in two distinct directions. On his first remix, he turns "I Eat Air" into loopy minimal techno, turning one of Nobel's bell chimes into a slightly noisier version of a Pantha Du Prince tune. His "Space Version" ventures into ambient techno, doing away with the drums and adding a stuttering arpeggio that makes it feel weightless yet propulsive.
If you like your Dettmann peak-time style, he's got you covered. His remix of "Bliss" is anything but blissed-out. Industrial strength kick drums and distorted melodies overpower the original's wavy, trip-hop feel. And his "Bitcrush Version" of "Nehalennia" is even darker. The orchestral original is hollowed out into a series of eerie melodies and haunted vocals laid at slanted angles over harsh drum programming. All four remixes tap into a different side of both Nobel and Dettmann. And, hopefully, given Dettmann's clout, this will bring Nobel to a much wider audience.
Tracklist01. Bliss (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
02. I Eat Air (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
03. Nehalennia (Marcel Dettmann Bitcrush Version)
04. I Eat Air (Marcel Dettmann Space Version)