This new outfit sees Arne Weinberg, with his penchant for modular music, team up with The Exaltics for a very special album. Beats help to relieve the pressure but cannot alleviate the overarching sense of fear sculpted by this pairing.
The freshly formed Val_Ex must be one of the most tantalizing collaborations of 2014. This new outfit sees Arne Weinberg, with his penchant for modular music, team up with The Exaltics for a very special album.
This German partnership isn’t one I would have immediately put together. Weinberg has been moved away from Techno, under his Valanx moniker the Glasgow based artist has been carving out hardened works of Industrial clad Ambient on his own diametric. On the other side of the coin Robert Witsch has been hyper productive, delivering Electro and Techno on a range of labels this year. But sometimes it can be the disparity that creates unity. Riot marries their separateness. Darkness looms throughout. An all pervasive static gloom sits across the album, an atmosphere heavy with despair. But don’t be mistaken into thinking this is a depressing listen, far from it. Instead the two men explore the shadows and blend with the night-sky to enhance introspection. Rhythms rise and fall, coming to a head in tracks like “Metacognition.” However, percussion is only used as a support rather than a driving force. It is the dense soundscapes constructed that are the focus, the enveloping fog of fragile and understated analogue tones. Coldness and distance course through the LP, the estrangement of “Fall Back” or the insularity of “You’ve Never Been Right.” The CD release closes with a full version of the latter, spiking drums keeping the track grounded .
This collaboration between Weinberg and Witschkowski was always going to be something interesting, but the duo have gone above and beyond. Ashen clouds gather, electrical lead rains as mechanical heaviness pours onto the listener. But this is not a claustrophobic sound, instead it is one which envelopes without smothering. Beats help to relieve the pressure but cannot alleviate the overarching sense of fear sculpted by this pairing.
Riot is available on Solar One.
