Celestial, kinetic and beautifully detailed. This is retro-style dream music in its most creative and igniting form.
Not many can concoct a retro-infused sonic potion of space electronica/ambient that doesn’t sound like an imitation nowadays. Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow have managed to do that brilliantly. Their new collaborative effort under the Vermont alias is celestial, kinetic and beautifully detailed. Born out of a series of loose jam sessions, each of the fourteen tracks that assemble this eponymous album is an absorbing little heaven for the vintage analog synthesizers enthusiast. In some cases (both from the past and present) albums of this kind sound cold, like they were created by synths that had been set to an automatic pilot mode. But, this is not the case here. This album is soul-warming and mind-boosting.
Vermont contains lovely sound manipulations that tightly grip the traveler. Repeat listens reveal more shades and subtleties, and the more one basks in the rich, luminous sonic currents of the album, the more one becomes addicted to them. They enchantingly interact with one another by some sort of spiritual, otherworldly dance. This is retro-style dream music in its most creative and igniting form.
Vermont has plenty to offer to veteran aficionados of the Berlin and Düsseldorf Schools of electronic music, but also to every fan of modern electronic music. It’s one of those albums that have the ability to turn a kid onto the wonders of electronic music. Old-timers will enjoy the warm sense of nostalgia and appreciate the elegance in movement, but will also find the music refreshing and unique, while younger modern day escapists will appreciate the quality of the textures and eclectic and dynamic character, and will be charmed by the emotional openness and atmospheric depth. Both Worgull and Plessow hail from the house territory, where they are well known. Their more dance-oriented musical background is felt throughout the album, not via actual elements of house, deep house or techno, but via the forward-driven movement and sophistication of the tracks. Interestingly, some of the tracks even contain some alluring, exotic jazzy scents.
Besides the synth work of Worgull and Plessow, the album also features beautiful contributions by luminaries Dominik Von Senger (guitar on “Sharav,” “Cocos” and “Montag”) and Jaki Liebezeit (drums/percussion on “Cocos” and “Macchina”). Also on display, are effective contributions by Dermot O’mahony (violin on Übersprung) and Lena Willikens (theremin on Lithium). These contributions add so much color and spark. What distinguishes Vermont from other recent retro-infused experiments, is that its two creators don’t strictly stick to old formulas. They remain faithful to the style, but stretch things out and spice them up. Together with their co-conspirators they simply do what feels right. This, and all the aforementioned qualities will secure Vermont a very well deserved spot on many best of the year lists.
Vermont is available on Kompakt.
