Roger van Lunteren’s album (first released on vinyl in 1999, now re-released twice as long on CD) feels like a fresh breeze in the often way too inbred world of electronic listening music. The five long tunes on the album may all have a similar build, a bunch of repetitive elements that work together and mutates, but the results are all diverse. Sil has a contrabassline and a fusillade of percussion, it reminds me of the work of Amon Tobin. Path has a non-linear bass drum loop, snare drums at supersonic speeds and a
warm melodic element built around an electric guitar sample. Cryptic is a beautiful piece of ambient techno, similar to the early works of Aphex Twin or Autechre.
The definite masterpiece of the album is though the almost 40 minute long Float. It sounds so simple on paper: take a few loops and weave them in and out of each other, add a few filters on top of that. In spite of that the tune keeps me attentive throughout, and though it for long periods misses a distinctive beat it is a seriously engaging tune. Tmæins is without a doubt one of the albums on my best of the year list.
[itunes id=”1071663381″]
