Mnemonic :: The Air I Breathe (Halbsicht)

Treading through layers of delicate electronics from the past decade, The Air I Breathe is a brittle release filled with gentle melodies that attract faint harmonic rhythms and elegant instrumental moods. 

[Release page] Michael Belletz (one half of The Last Gambit for which their 2011 release Songs for people like us was reviewed here) takes on the Mnemonic moniker again with a more subdued realization. Treading through layers of delicate electronics from the past decade, The Air I Breathe is a brittle release filled with gentle melodies that attract faint harmonic rhythms and elegant instrumental moods. At times you’ll be hard-pressed not to fall into a hypnotized state as each entity features a dose of saturated bubbles and memories lost in the haze.

“Cocoon” exhibits slices of shoegaze intermixed among classical constructs whereas the evolved “A room full of happiness” details instrumental ambience and upbeat chords. “Escapism” flows around piano keys just as a Digitonal parallel can be construed on “Lament”—violin and guitar strings entangle themselves in a whirlwind of sadness. “Narcotic Monday,” the opening track, and “Monologische Methode” are a couple of beat-centric and emotive highlights that are definitely soundtrack approved. “Valet,” the closing piece, is a shadow of its neighboring counterparts and acts as a summation of the pensive style that has progressed throughout these eleven extracts. Melancholic, mysterious and often quite nostalgic, The Air I Breathe is a tranquil album of armchair IDM that may appeal to fans of classic-era Arovane, Digitonal and Metamatics. While the cover art might suggest a more direct and hearty meal is in order, Mnemonic slows the gears down to create a surreal landscape of emotive electronic music.

The Air I Breathe is available on Halbsicht. [Release page | n5mailorer]