German producer Robert Panthera Krause might be best known for his activities within collectives such as Marbert Rocel and Karocel, but a string of releases and remixes in the last eighteen months have seen the spotlight shift over to his work as a solo artist. Now, having debuted on the label last spring, Krause looks to cement his position as a solitary beat-maker with a six-track EP of fresh house and techno cuts for Riotvan.
Through My Mind opens the EP, offering a low-slung deep house cut, in which hollow-sounding pads, an all-embracing melody and soulful vocals come together for a track that is at once easy-going but with enough kick to make sure it will keep the dance-floor shuffling. It’s straightforward and simple but, as the beatless mid-track breakdown exemplifies, it has an emotiveness that makes it utterly captivating.
In contrast Isla has a much more terse and techy aesthetic. Continually cascading pads and a softly growling bassline underpin sweeping sci-fi synths, whilst the emergence of an enchanted, Twin Peaks-esque melody at the mid-track point gives the whole thing a sudden splash of idiosyncrasy and life. A dub of the track is also included, in which not much is altered other than the fact that the synths are slightly more prominent. Both versions are wonderful outings in trippy techno-leaning dance music and reiterate the fact that Krause is not your run-of-the-mill producer.
Offering yet more variation, If is a percussive house groove woven from strands of live instrumentation. As an electronic through-line gradually emerges, the track swaggers onwards, a hybrid of tumbling instrumentation and computer music in which each crescendo peak and breakdown allows the rhythm to re-emerge as a lively new pattern. Dubček follows, offering shuffling disco licks with a funky drum-track and a one-note string sample that is looped over and over to become a killer riff. A simple yet effective, floor-orientated number.
A two-minute long Outro of muddy electronics and whirrs brings the package to a satisfying close and furthermore gestures to both the ambitiousness and thoughtfulness that has informed this EP. The variation on offer means that there will be something for DJs of all disposition, whilst the over-all coherence of the record means it will be an EP that is just as suited for home-listening. With as much consideration, if not more, than a lot of albums have – everything from the artwork to the production values are immaculate – Laika presents itself as the calling card of a very promising solo career indeed.
The press release describes this as being as much a mini-album than an EP, and it’s not wrong. There is a weight and density, a fullness to this release that makes it a much more rounded and expansive prospect than even some LPs.
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