- 28
- Mar
Cologne's Kompakt Records always has a way of surprising me. I figured the Gui Boratto album that came out last month would be the best thing I'd hear from the label for a while this year. Yet here we are, one month later, the they've gone and done it again.
From Here We Go Sublime is the first full-length album by Sweden's The Field, aka Axel Willner (not to be confused with Fields, the folk-electro-pop band from the UK, nor Field Music, the indie pop band, also from the UK). The Field in question makes insanely good techno music that is somewhat ambient in texture (think loads of synths and soft pads), but whose real magic lies in the incredible depth of layering and subtlety. The nerd in me wants to see the Logic or Live setup for some of these songs, wherein I imagine 100+ active tracks pulsing away - seriously, there is so much going on sometimes, I almost get lost.
The album has been a saving grace for me in many ways. I've listened to it on the iPod numerous times - hearing it up close really lets me get into the maze-like structures of some of the tracks, especially complex ones like the acid-tinged "The Little Heart Beats So Fast", and the chopped to micro-bits guitar part on "A Paw In My Face". Putting it on after work at home, where I can hear more of the low-end, is really satisfying. The low-end is especially great on songs with big drones of bass, like "The Deal" and the gorgeous "Everyday" - I have yet to play this album out on a proper club sound system, but I'd love to hear it super loud and just get enveloped in the folds of bass. Ridiculous.
Stunning stuff. Some may find it too gentle for their Justice-hardened tastes these days, which, don't get me wrong, I also love deeply. But there are times when you need something beautiful in your ears, and From Here We Go Sublime is perfect for that. Gui Boratto and The Field, one month apart? That is a Kompakt hat-trick if ever there was one.
You can download the album in high-bitrate MP3 direct from the Kompakt MP3 shop or from Beatport - or order a physical copy today from Kompakt mail-order, our friends at Forced Exposure or Insound. Very highly recommended.