- Continuing her fruitful relationship with Prologue and dark, detailed techno, Cologne's Cio D'or offers up four new cuts. The title track is wrapped in a Burial-like ambience, in which crashes of thunder boom moodily in the distance. Though devoid of footsteps per se, there's a sense of cautious movement through cavernous space. Patches of ringing pops and gritty shuffling assist this feeling, as D'or eases gusty synths back and forth across the spectrum. Halfway through, the already considerable sense of dread is amplified by a subtle yet convincing heartbeat. At the opposite end of the record, "Magnetkreis" is similarly atmospheric. Its hard-shelled kicks strike at will, laying down a broken rhythm amid pressurised blasts of steam and numerous industrial echoes. That makes it sound violent, but it's actually rather restrained; more menacing than savage.
The two Krafts ("Wirbel" and "Wasser") turn towards functionality. "Wirbelkraft" advances heavily, an offbeat swooping and elephantine kicks forming the crux of the track. Its hi-hat is similarly hard-edged, akin to a collision between glass marbles. This tough foundation is overlaid with pointedly fragile sounds, a technique D'or has used with success in the past. In this case, it's a kind of subterranean dripping; saturated with reverb, it flutters ethereally and seemingly at random over the blockier elements. "Wasserkraft" favours an even lighter melody, a kind of choral murmuring which has been reduced almost to nothing. This time, Roland-sourced toms fuel the underlying intensity, making "Wasserkraft" the most punishing track of the release.
TracklistA1 Magnetfluss
A2 Wirbelkraft
B1 Wasserkraft
B2 Magnetkreis