Bleep

One of the masters of Dutch electronica is finally making his debut on the definitive name in Amsterdam dance. That’s right, Interstellar Funk makes his full length return on the coveted Dekmantel label with an LP entitled Into The Echo. A clear homage to the marriage of analogue and digital, Echo sees Interstellar Funk add shades of guitar and auxiliary percussion to his typical arsenal of experimental production to great effect. It’s still very much a dour affair, but these more human touches affix a certain lightness that feels right at home. If anything, the (relatively) serene moments of relief throw the more typically ominous, brooding sounds into even starker consequence.

Take for instance, the transition from the lighter-than-air ambience on ‘Dreamers (Part I) to the white-knuckled slasher-movie tension of ‘Psycho Panner’. Each track made better by the effect their sequencing plays off. Even better is ‘Crickets at Night’ which builds from ghostly piano-led ambience to eerily looped wordless vocals that suggest something much darker than where the song began.