Roland Schappert - Route 2 [R-ecords]

Coming in from the Cologne-based and artist run R-ecords imprint these days is "Route 2", the latest 2LP vinyl set cooked up by Roland Schappert. Mastered by Bob Humid and released as a limited edition of 250 copies Schappert presents a ten track journey into his very personal sonic universe, traversing from timeless crystalline Ambeint minimalisms presented in the opening cut "Darwin" to cold, frosty (Field?) recordings of exoplanetary atmospheres whereas "I Love You, Ich" is a well groovy, yet stripped down exercise in trippy hypnotic lo-fi Electronica garnished with crumbling, decaying vocal snippets, the subsequent "I Love You, Coda" dives deep into experimental low-end Techno abstractions whereas "Victor" brings forth an amalgamation of deep Electronica x ChillOut vibes paired with subtle Clicks'n'Cuts influences. Furthermore "Fällst Mir Leicht" indulges in ancient, fever'ish Tribal ryhthm signatures and gnarly analogue vintage synth basslines, "Barbate" and its modified string pluckings evoke memories of Contemporary Classical composition techniques as well as medieval harps and, despite being instrumental, minnesong whilst "Cadiz" caters a spatial and sub-aquatic, almost Drexciyan take on calm, organic and polyphonic ChillOut vibes and the strangely named closing cut that "Campari-Sekt" seemingly pairs the looped signature sound of drinking through a straw with icy, glistening repetitions of Minimal Music layers for those who do appreciate the works of early pioneers like Steve Reich alongside more recent purveyors of electro-acoustic music like Aube or, in parts, Asmus Tietchens and others. If you are a dedicated collector of minimalist electronic music in general this album is one to check out for sure.