Sool
Taking a leap from her reliable, fist-pumping techno beats to the world of ambience and art galleries, the slick and sometimes inscrutable *Sool* is quite a change for Berlin electronica artist Ellen Allien. Some fans may be put off by the stark, minimalist feel of many tracks here, but repeated listens often allow the pieces to open up and connect. Tracks like “Bim” and “Zauber” feel more playful, and slightly warmer, the more time you spend with them, and even quirky, experimental excursions — like “Sprung” and “Ondu” — become more engaging and less opaque. Synthesized embellishments such as twittering flutes, chattering castanets and meandering oboes are used with careful restraint, and encountering those small touches is half the fun. “Elphine” is engaging and almost sweet, but morphs toward the end to something darker, while “Caress” does the opposite, hinting at menace the first few minutes but lightening up with airborne synths and fairy-dust whooshes. *Sool* is certainly an interesting detour for Allien, and worth following as the artist chases her muse.
Welcome to the allien world. SooL is subtile and mysterious. SoLl is the new - 4th soloalbum by Ellen Allien. "Created in winter 2007/2008 in Berlin, intended to be a valve, a loophole. Winters always have been a very creative time for me; in particular, after this past hot and crazy summer and autumn 2007 in Berlin."
The Bpitch Control owner's latest record is uncompromising, barren, and austere-- and another success in a career full of them.
It starts with an announcement; the same analogue female voice that seems to speak a hundred different languages from Boston to Belgrade.