Elektroklange is the project of swedish machine-pop artist Fredrik J, Elektroklange first grabbed my attention back in 2015, when the single "Hello World!" was released. This was followed a year later with the release of the "Mechanische Tanze Nos 1-4 EP".
Then it all went very quiet.......until the release of a new 5 track EP called "Kosmische Music", in September last year, which was followed by the first full album to be released by Elektroklange in December of last year, called "Komposituation", featuring 10 new tracks, which is what we are reviewing here.....
"Komposituation (Teil 1)" is an intro for the album, which starts with a telephone ringing (at first I thought it was house phone ringing!), this is followed by a brief telephone conversation and a vocoded vocal at the end, an interesting way to start the album.
Then we get the melodies going with the fabulous "Einklinkt", a great lead melody on this against a Kraftwerk styled rhytmic section and some well executed vocoded vocals, plenty of space for each instrument in the mix, very well produced and a track I really like. Definitely a nod towards Kraftwerk's album "Computer World".
I loved the sequenced opening on "Funk-Musik", very gentle, more sequenced melodies kick in and we get the "space" like lead synth which adds a nice sound dynamic to the song, the track definitely has a relaxing vibe, superb robotic vocal parts, a very impressive track. This one has a "Man Machine" influence running through it.
"Zeitansage", which is German for time announcement/check in case you were wondering! starts with a ticking clock and I do like that bell melody, nice vocal parts with time checks and a strong synth lead, a nicely constructed track, I like the introduction of a choir pad near the end, reminded me of OMD's album "Dazzle Ships". Another excellent track.
Track 5 is called "Elektronische Darstellung Des Quintenzirkels", which in English translates to "Electronic representation of the circle of fifths"! A very technical title, the track itself is a thing of beauty, especially those lead synth sounds, against a minimalistic rhythm, excellent bass sequencer which drives the tempo of the track slowly up, the space lead on 2 minutes is fantastic, adds depth to the song, wonderful how it all slows down at the end, one of my favourite tracks so far.
Next we have one of the best Machine-Pop tracks I have ever heard, "Isabella & Barbara", what a song this is, my word it is infectious, one of those songs you just keep singing and can't get it out of your head, If I was Fredrik, I would release this as a single, it is certainly a track I would like to remix. Brilliant bass line, stunning melody lines and a driving synth sequencer, love the choirs, the vocal parts and vocoded parts are perfect, what else can I say, pure brilliance.
"Musik Kosmik" was released as a single, the album version is longer, one of the earlier things that caught my eye about Elektroklnge's music is mixing piano with electronic sounds and on this track it is used again to great effect, strong beats and again the choir pads are very effective, I like the change in sounds at 4 minutes, very "Computer World", it is very clear Fredrik is a passionate Kraftwerk fan. Excellent track to release as a single.
Following that we have "Durerchen's Mondfahrt", which in English means "Durerchen's Moon Ride" is another track that leans towards Kraftwerk's "Man-Machine" era, it is quite a sparse track, with a main melody running through it, with sweep synth parts and a sequencer, with a ryhthm section that builds as the track develops, probably my least favourite track on the album.
A vocoded vocal and some Speak and spell samples introduce us to track 9, "Elektrogie" is a mid-paced song, with some wonderful drum/percussion sounds, I especially like the changing bass-line, around 2 min 40 we are treated to a glorious melody line and processed choir sounds that give the track an erie feeling, another track that impressed me.
The closing track "Komposituation (Teil 2)" is another track that featured on the recent 5 track single, excellent vocoded parts, which kick off the track and continue as the track builds, a fabulous sequencer melody accompanies the vocals along with a delicate rhytmic section. Closes the album perfectly.
It is clear Fredrik is a huge Kraftwerk fan, but what is interesting is, he was inspired by Kraftwerk's art and graphics designer Emil Schult, and that certainly is the case with the cover artwork, a very clever take on Kraftwerk's orange traffic cone, which was used on there very early albums.
The album is very well produced and a joy to listen too from start to finish, as a Kraftwerk fan myself I have to say it is a superb album, an album that has been worth the wait and hopefully, this will inspire Fredrik to continue the creative strengths shown on this album.
9/10
The album is available from Bandcamp here:
https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/komposituation
and available from the Alfa Matrix store here:
https://store.alfa-matrix-store.com/product/elektroklange-komposituation-cd/
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