Maybe an over-productive project for a few ones but this bunch of nicely made tracks will easily convince fans of dark waving and moodily atmospheric electro-gothic music, mainly from the 80s.
Alexander Leonard Donat is one busy, highly prolific, multifaceted and electronic self-produced artist coming from Berlin, Germany. The Berlin underground electronic music scene has always been very active, since the 70s classical school of Kosmische Musik to synth pop, techno and trance. The city has participated to major developments and collective emulation in old and modern days electronic art and experimentations.
Mr Donat works under an incredible large number of monikers, musically surfing on various sub-genres, not necessary in the electronic field. All his materials are self-published on his net label Blackjack Illuminist. I don’t know if it is an intentional “bypass” strategy toward the music business. Vlimmer is quite a recent project (active since 2015) and whose production is mainly offered as singles, EP’s in digital format and sometimes accompanied by craft-based packaging for ultra limited physical releases. I’m not so familiar with his earliest work as Vlimmer, consequently I’m providing here a few words and feelings without relating to his various musical turns and trajectory.
While “Fensterlosigkeit,” “Grundbuch” can be considered as languid and darkly vaporous ballads with a clear retro-ish feeling, tracks such as “Freiwärts,” deliver a more punchy synth-pop climax if not shoegazy in “Traumlität.” A few aleatoric sound manipulations also punctuate the album. In all the album is quite cohesive with a clearly identifiable musical nostalgia for gothic rock bands who made a big name in the late 80s / early 90s. This album sounds like a celebration of famous underground sub-genres but it also belongs to a certain music “revival.”
Maybe an over-productive project for a few ones but this bunch of nicely made tracks will easily convince fans of dark waving and moodily atmospheric electro-gothic music, mainly from the 80s, I’m notably thinking about Black Tape for a blue girl, Lycia, Ordo Equilibrio, The Cure but also romantical new wave acts (Collin Newman et al).
llllll/lllllll is available on Blackjack Illuminist.
