Strich & Faden - Paul Schulleri (Subtrak)

Title: Paul Schulleri
Artist: Strich & Faden
Label: Subtrak
Cat Number: Subtrak 026
Genre: IDM, Tech House, Nu Disco

01. Cruel
02. Sleepless In The Sun
03. Stickmata
04. Mondschein Baby
05. Ohrenschmaus
06. Spade
07. Sakral
08. Sirene
09. Things Going On
10. Tiefdruck
11. Catpeople
12. Disorder
13. Sirene (Zen Baboon Remix)
14. Rain

An interesting piece of work by Paul Schulleri that is emphasised as being an album, inasmuch as it's not a collection of tracks, rather more than the sum of its parts. It's a selection that shows versatility and maturity and is also difficult to pidgeonhole. To me it's a blend of glitchy minimalism and ambience, (btw the genre description above is what is given in an official description that I found somewhere on the interweb), and the merging of these two specifics is handled very well.

Certain tracks stand out, so here are some quick impressions:

'Cruel' has a vocal transformed into brass and gives off mournful, Mexican-style spaghetti western vibes.

'Mondschein Baby' has a driving, techy groove with synth washes over a relentless, clicky, percussive foundation.

'Ohrenschmaus' is very similar to 'Mondschein Baby' but a little bit deeper and dubbier. Bleeps are underpinned by a spiralling melody.

'Rain' has a possibly Eurythmics - inspired cold-war melody and a diva vocal submerged in the mix.

'Tiefdruck' uses a well-trodden riff but still manages to make it sound fresh.

'Sakral' is a trancey offering that can feel cliched but is handled with panache.

Generally a very synthetic collection of stripped-down ambience with instances of spiky funk. Certain tunes may give the feeling of having been "shoed-in" but that's more down to a lack of variety in the repetoires of other artists than anything else.