Christian Kleine :: Environmental Cure (Self Released)

Christian Kleine’s tenth album is a pleasant departure from the standard; deftly showcasing electronics of the late nineties and immersing them in an emotional and sonic instrumental stew.

An emotional and sonic instrumental stew

With Environmental Cure, those of us who wax nostalgic for Christian Kleine’s Beyond Repair (2001)—noted in our Releases we now consider classics article—Real Ghosts (2004), or his influential work with Thaddeus Herrmann on Our Noise (Morr Music, 2002) can relive those moments—or check our 2002 profile. Indeed, he hasn’t stopped working since those early days, which were particularly impressive to me since Kleine was able to combine experimental soundtracks with slow, ambient beats and evocative instrumental electronics. His environments haven’t changed in the slightest, and perhaps this album is the cure.

Over the past couple decades, Kleine has kept putting out music both on his own and with A Strangely Isolated Place. He has also made several guest appearances with notable labels such as Renaissance, Imaš Lepo Dupe, DiN, and worked with Uwe Zhan (Arovane — Tides, in particular). However, Environmental Cure seems to be all of the abovementioned components combined into a single, concise panoramic.

“TVZ” and “Delicious” explore downtempo electronica strains and guitar soundtracks, while “Mode&Verzweiflung” creates yet another environment reminiscent of Ulrich Schnauss or Hammock with its cinematic flow and drifting melodic ambience, culminating in Tobias Lilja-styled voices featured on “The Hand.” The meticulously choreographed “Lucien,” on the other hand, transports us to a bygone post-punk era, while “Statues”‘ technoid flutter seeps into our spirits.

Overall, Christian Kleine’s tenth album is a pleasant departure from the standard; deftly showcasing electronics of the late nineties and immersing them in an emotional and sonic instrumental stew.

Environmental Cure is self released and available on Boomkat.