Sleeparchive - Hospital Tracks

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  • Roger Semsroth has been kicking around techno since the beginning of the 00’s - first crafting electro as Skanfrom, then making a brief detour as Television Set before finally emerging as the starkly minimal Sleeparchive. Under that moniker he’s self-released two records a year since 2004, garnering attention from a diverse set of DJs including The Hacker, Miss Kittin and Richie Hawtin, who has included Sleeparchive tracks on ‘DE9 | Transitions’ as well as two other mixes. Where Sleeparchive’s last double 12” ‘Radio Transmissions EP’ was comprised of a few longer tracks and a handful of short snippets, ‘Hospital’ is consistently short on running time: none of the nine tracks break the five minute mark. But very few modifications have been made to the spare palate Semsroth has used on each Sleeparchive release: This time around the oscillating synth lines and otherworldly crackles fit carefully into an emergency room aesthetic of pulse monitors, breathing machines and even the near-imperceptible hum of an MRI. Clicks and clacks doused with reverb conjure up long, sterile hallways, while 'Hospital 04' and '05' plunge listeners into the belly of testing equipment, with the swelling progressions of the former and the 8-bit motorcycle revving of the latter examining every last inch. While many of the tunes found on 'Hospital Tracks' could easily be woven into a minimal set, it’s the two cuts not titled ‘Hospital’ that will set dancefloors alight: The melancholic 'Diagnosis' is set in an echoing room where gloomy piano chords pace back and forth among percussive shards – here the Detroit-styled synths expand and contract more tunefully than on any other Sleeparchive arrangement –, while 'Null Sekunden' rattles at an elevated pace, punctuated by metallic pads and a woman's deadpanned recitation of the song's title. 'Hospital Tracks' continues the string of fine releases from Sleeparchive, one that further solidifies Semsroth's place in the minimal canon. That he managed to evoke a new setting with many of the same elements found on previous outings speaks to Semsroth's knack for varied arrangements. 'Hospital' also contains Sleeparchive's boldest melodic statement yet in 'Diagnosis', giving listeners a whiff of possible new directions, or perhaps just Semsroth's passing fancy. With his recent penchant for releasing multiple albums’ worth of material per year, eager audiences will have the chance to find out soon enough.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Hospital 01 A2 Hospital 02 B1 Hospital 03 B2 Hospital 04 C1 Hospital 05 C2 Hospital 06 C3 Diagnosis D1 Null Sekunden D2 Hospital 09
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