Aparde - Alliance - [Vinyl]

Aparde\x27s new album, Alliance sees the German\nmusician retreat from his recent experimentations\nwith avant\-gard pop music back into the world of\ndeep, and oftentimes dark, electronica. For his\nprevious album, Hands Rest, Aparde ventured\noutside Berlin\x27s club scene through the use of his\nvoice, which gave his music a softer and more\nintimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, except\nthis time the musician\x27s vulnerability seeps through\nthe cracks rather than taking center stage.\nAs impressive sonically as it is technically, Aparde\nused a mixture of electronic sounds, analogue\nequipment and his own voice either as a sound\nelement or lyrical component to explore this duality\nof sound. \x27\x27This album was about focusing on\nsomething that calmed me down and brought me\naway from reality,\x27\x27 says Aparde. When the musician\nsays \x27away from reality\x27, he doesn\x27t mean into\ndreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deep\ndive into dystopian atmospheres of drone sounds\nand chewed\-up drum machines. Alliance\x27s second\ntrack, Allies has a dire beginning and one might\neven be tempted in skipping it if it weren\x27t for\nAparde\x27s hushed voice shining through the\nshadows, melancholic yes, but also warm. Despite\nthe album\x27s focus on electronic gear the music isn�t\nexactly dance\-able, tracks have a ruminative pace,brooding even, \x27\x27I wanted to make the tracks with\nmore breathing space between the atmosphere\nand silence. There are fewer elements but more\nimpact, I think,\x27\x27 says Aparde.\nThings change gears toward the middle of\nAlliance, with both Lined and The Shift representing\nthe colder, club\-ier tracks of the album. For\nboth of these tunes, any emotionality gets\nconverted into a dense and thumping energy that\nis released in a cathartic fashion. It is, as Aparde\ndescribes, music \x27\x27for you to move to when you\nhave a good moment or a mental crisis\x27\x27. But\nAparde doesn\x27t leave it at that frequency; he closes\noff the album courageously by letting listeners in,\nonce again, to his own world and emotions. While\nstill a driving electronic track, Hole is framed\naround melancholic piano keys that bring the\nmood down, and prepare listeners for Know you,\nthe album\x27s most intimate, and vulnerable piece. \x27\x27I\nnever felt alright,\x27\x27 Aparde admits open\-heartedly\non the track.\nWith Alliance, Aparde brings listeners deep into\nhis soul, a soul that is at times conflicted and\nagitated and at times low\-key and solemn. And as\nhe does so, the listener\x27s own mood is muted and\nlifted in a journey of quest, dance and healing.

Aparde - Alliance - [Vinyl]

0196006055158