various: pop ambient 2013

Kompakt returns with its annual compilation and, as in the years before, Pop Ambient 2013 collects an illustrious cast of producers uniting genre pioneers alongside old friends and some surprising new arrivals. A long-standing contributor to the series, Leandro Fresco kicks things off in wonderfully lyrical fashion with "Cuando el Sol Grita la Manana." Michael Mayer makes his Pop Ambient debut with a remix of "Sully," the opener on his highly-praised full-length Mantasy. Wolfgang Voigt brings a Gas-eous vibe to the track. A Pop Ambient staple under his Popnoname moniker, Jens-Uwe Beyer contributes a concrete hymn with "Deutz Air 2," while Jörg Burger aka Triola pays tribute to French director Jean Vigo, exploring the limits between synthetic and "natural" sounds. Marsen Jules returns with "Point of No Return," an impressive track seemingly illustrating glaciers trembling under the weight of a giant's foot, whereas Mikkel Metal puts the music under a burning glass in his intensely focused "Recombination," not without spotting a hint of a beat in its steady pulse. Anton Kubikov, also known as SCSI-9, follows up with "Ambianopolis," where he has a wailing piano telling the story of legendary cities engulfed by the sea. Wolfgang Voigt's iterative project Rückverzauberung sees its seventh embodiment on Pop Ambient 2013 with a massively sensual abstraction between harmony and dissonance. A penultimate offering comes with another contribution from Leandro Fresco, the masterful "El Cruce Imposible," where a haunting drone resolves in painfully beautiful chords. The last track introduces a project from Jörg Burger and Matias Aguayo ; Terrapin's Pink Floyd cover, "Circus Minor," offers perfect closure on a fascinating trip.