patrice baumel: balance presents

Patrice Bäumel occupies a highly distinctive and less-trodden niche in electronic music. He operates at the intersection of the emotive and the technical, with his keen ear for melody and drama working in tandem with intricate sound design and experimental templates. While one could loosely label him a techno artist, his love of ambient and electronica is just as crucial to his musical identity as any sense of dancefloor machination might be. A stalwart of the Amsterdam scene who held residencies at the legendary Club 11 and Trouw, he has proven himself to be a formidable producer with releases on Kompakt, !K7, Get Physical, My Favorite Robot, and Systematic, in addition to his acclaimed 2010 debut album, Vapour. He joins the illustrious Balance Presents canon with a truly cohesive and imaginative piece of work, blending and contrasting the soaring melodies of M83 and ethereal magic of Nils Frahm with the guttural throb of Plastikman; the glistening highs of Max Cooper (remixing Stephan Bodzin) with the dark lows of FKA Twigs. The mix also features three exclusive productions from Bäumel. It opens with his "Intro," hits a moment of high drama with his intense, brooding version of Underworld's "Bird 1," and closes with the mesmeric "Departure," a beatless slice of epic crescendos, penetrating sub blasts, and intense percussion that loses nothing from the absence of kicks. Bäumel painstakingly arranged the whole affair using harmonic matching, automation, transposing looping, and editing, and finally passed it through an analog mixer for a crisp, tight aesthetic. "I hope for the mix to contain enough intelligence and emotion to be a worthwhile listen under many circumstances. It's not all easy listening; some parts really have teeth. So by nature, the mix is not -- and was never meant to be -- for people with a low tolerance for music and sound that is outspoken. I didn't want to dumb it down. I think it's a great after-hour home party mix but I hope that it sparks people's imagination and creativity in all kinds of situations." Also includes tracks by Heathered Pearls, Jon Hopkins, Kurt Baggaley, Christopher Bissonnette, Throwing Snow, Vessels remixed by Barker & Baumecker, Doubtingthomas, Minilogue remixed by Jichael Mackson, Bee Mask, DJ Hell remixed by Playgroup, Guy J, Barry Jamieson remixed by Charlie May, Jesse Somfay, El_Txef_A remixed by Dave DK, and Kangding Ray.