gondwana: aum

As a member of Lumisokea, Berlin-based Andrea Taeggi shapes acoustic and electronic sound alongside Koenraad Ecker into their singular take on bass music. Time signatures fold into themselves, volleying voluptuous percussions and seismic synthscapes. This fixation extends beyond press hyperbole into aesthetic and philosophical study on Aum, the debut release of Taeggi's Gondwana project. As Gondwanaland was a pre-Pangaean unified land mass, so is Taeggi's solo mission to draw all of his influences together and mediate the whole. Opener "A Gospel of Dirt" sets the scene with sparse sonic elements fused against a metallic backdrop. Sounds morph from liquid to solid shapes, melodies set to scales of a different time and place. "Bootstrapping" tickles ears with its off-color arpeggios backed up by a nine-legged gallop in the tesseract. "Þingvellir" opens the B-side in majestic style, a paean to glaciation, to gargantuan movement unmeasurable in human time. Cast in bronze tones, fizzing with combs before its deafening crescendo. Aum is a special record from a special musician and presents a modern take on cinema for the ear. Mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering.