Nina Kraviz’s best music tends to have a hall of mirrors-like quality. Kraviz classics such as ‘Pochuvstvui’ and ‘Ghetto Kraviz’ are constantly re-obscuring themselves - the moment that they appear ready to reveal their secrets is the same moment that they retreat away. The tracks on the producer’s new EP Stranno Neobjatno have that same wily quality about them. These are minimal techno jacks full of mystery and intrigue.
Opening cut ‘Dream Machine’ is very much in the vein of the other work Kraviz has released through her TRIP imprint. Lilting at around 120-bpm, the undulating groove is punctuated by icy stabs of synth and a typically enigmatic vocal loop from Kraviz. The remainder of Stranno Neobjatno quickens the pace. ‘I Want You’ is the most forthright thing Kraviz has released in a while, and that’s not just down to the title - this urgent, slightly frantic techno tool contains some arresting coldwave synth work. Stranno Neobjatno’s title track keeps the energy high with its sighing vocals and alien synth gurgles.
You wait all year for a Nina Kraviz release and then two come along at once. Hot on the heels of Feel My Butterfly - a recent collaborative EP with ghetto-house master Parris Mitchell - the queen of techno now serves up her second set of the summer in the form of Stranno Neobjatno.
