marcel fengler: fokus

Berghain resident and dexterous producer Marcel Fengler presents his hotly-anticipated debut full-length album on Ostgut Ton. An intensive and concentrated collection of rich electronica, challenging techno and broken beat formations, there is great contrast to be found amongst these textural and homogeneous tracks.

read more: Having already demonstrated his talents at producing bold, gyrating and atmospheric techno through his numerous 12''s on Ostgut Ton, and after offering a window into his DJ mind with the versatile and highly musical Berghain 05 mix CD, Marcel Fengler now approaches the album format, exploring his take on electronic music from yet another angle. Over 11 varied and detailed tracks, his debut album Fokus is the product of an intensive three months in his Berlin studio, where Fengler developed a sonic concept for an album which expanded his love for outlandish electronics, abstract melody, abrasive textures and dub-wise bass frequencies, all carefully siphoned into a very concentrated end result. From the engulfing spaces found in the opening moments of "Mayria," sweeping layers of synthesis, mysterious sung elements and encircling layers of kinetic energy build. Marcel introduces us to the sound aesthetic of Fokus - grating, broken beats are rough yet controlled, detailed hyper-tonal elements swarm and pan, micro details swimming beneath the surface. Sonically confronting, standing out from any conventional palette of sounds, early tracks like "The Stampede" and "Trespass" offer alternative answers to today's club tasks. Maintaining the confident mixture between 4/4 movement and more experimental musical elements and motifs, the melancholic "Jaz" juggles its way across the spectrum, while "King of Psi" unleashes more of Fengler's trademark texture as static beats are set within a twinkling synthscape. Exploring yet more sound sources, discordant bells chime as a rasping percussion set kicks "Sky Pushing" into its introverted, paranoid zones. Moving into avant-garde circles, the beautiful "High Falls" filters and shimmers in a reduced intermission. The frenetic synth drums and wonderful sequencer madness of "Dejavu" describe another of the album's strong points perfectly; Fokus speaks volumes as something so diverse, yet with such a clear and concentrated production. "Liquid Torso" is the album's epilogue; a scientific, extended tribute to the Bleep. With Fokus, Marcel Fengler extracts himself far from the boundaries of a conventional DJ/producer debut album, achieving a very varied, controlled and musical album that is clearly concerned with satisfying a bright, burning need to express himself through electronic music in fresh and challenging ways.

Marcel Fengler | Fokus | ostgutcd27/lp13