Bleep

Having spent three years in incubation, Dopplereffekt return to Leisure System with their first album since 2017, and the label’s first offering of 2022. If their music could have been described as “cerebral” before, diving into scientific themes of mathematics, computation and astrophysics with intricate detail, their fourth album Neurotelepathy rewrites the very definition of the word.

Comprised of Michaela To-Nhan Barthel and Gerald Donald of the legendary Drexciya, Dopplereffekt’s sound ranges from dark sequences of electro beats to swathes of ambient textures and sparkling synth tapestries. On Neurotelepathy, both ends of the spectrum exist with introspective yet vigorous delivery, carrying the album’s cybernetic themes with equal measure. ‘Epigenetic Modulation’ opens the sonic transmission, taking its name from a process of biological alteration that makes itself apparent in the track’s arcing and phase shifting bleeps, hauntingly operatic vocals, and synapse snapping synth squelches. ‘Neural Impulse Actuator’ activates tightly locked beats and pulsating electrical signals, and the liquid synths of ‘Neural Plasticity’ map out scattered data points.

The exploratory middle act of the three ‘Cerebral’ tracks get to the heart of the album, using synths as linguistic devices that prey on the listener’s knowledge of electronic music, subverting its language completely. Synths converse with each other in high activity phrases, finding a groove to converse along as they morph and oscillate before resolving in the final leg of the album.

With tides of sheet metal and synaptic crickets scribbling across the stereo field, the endlessly shifting mental landscapes of Neurotelepathy come to a close on ‘EEG’, showcasing Dopplereffekt’s passion for electronic exploration.