driftmachine: spume & recollection

Punctual like a Swiss watch, Driftmachine presents a new album that once again astounds and delights. Spume & Recollection is the sixth Umor Rex album by the Berlin duo. Regarding Nocturnes (2014), their debut album, Umor Rex described their sound as precise and symmetrical, identical concrete blocks mounted and articulated in a random order. Their already obsessive style continued to evolve with their third record, Colliding Contours (2016), now pushing further into abstract dub, ultra-tense grooves, and even more kinetic loops, moving further away from conventional musical structures. Between these two albums they released the remarkable Eis Heauton (HG 1601LP, 2015), a kind of hypnotic experiment informed by shadowy atmospheres, chance, and an intuitive dialogue with their musical machines. A similar map was explored with Shunter (UR 113LP, 2018), a superb secret meeting between avant-garde phantasmagoria and concrete experimentation. Radiations (2017) offered B-sides and bonus tracks, in addition to collaborations with Shackleton and The Sight Below, a kind of preamble that united Driftmachine's different expressions and leanings. When Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer come up with new material, one listens with high expectation. Looking back on their discography, one could safely anticipate a high-quality album densely layered with their familiar leitmotifs. Yet, Spume & Recollection takes you by surprise and finds a new way to transfix. Fresh methods and ideas are introduced to their dynamics and formula. You can still expect a healthy dose of kosmische, a dominant feature in Driftmachine's DNA; but this is now entwined with novel materials, semi-material patterns of alien code stretching over exhilaratingly tense and detailed grooves, clouds of gas shifting on top of deep dub architecture and blocking out the sun for prismatic effect. Even more of a surprise is the immediate, streamlined nature of these tracks, making Spume & Recollection their most accessible record and, perhaps, the most addictive (and this without sacrificing the essential mystery and strangeness at the core of Driftmachine's sound). Umor Rex have previously described their work as post-industrial-dub; right now, it could be called hypno-music for man and machine to dance and dream together. Spume & Recollection takes this concept as far as it can go without breaking, and finds some strange new feelings, and weirdly danceable grooves, to shed some light on this dark and dazzling ride. Mastered by John Tejada. Artwork and photos by Daniel Castrejón. Violet vinyl; includes download code; edition of 300.