An Auxiliary View.Ümlaut

“An Auxiliary View,” the new album by Ümlaut, is an evocative meditation. The peaceful interplay of sounds evokes a hypnotic sense of movement. The listener is lured into a mind vehicle propelled by serenity and beauty, a journey unimpeded by the physical limitations of travel. Working in a lineage of musique concrète anchors one in the moment. Abstract, beat-less themes and atmospheric percussions interweave throughout the ambient drift and sizzling sound. Soothing synth tones, soulful vibrations and reverb-drenched chords floating in and out of the stereophonic field contribute to the metallic and blissful soundscape. As with most Ümlaut albums “An Auxiliary View” skirts most genres. The big differences here are textural and emotional. The micro-chopping and rearranging of barely recognizable sounds, which appear and disappear as otherworldly threads, twist and disentangle simultaneously, which makes the album feel brand new and fully known. Surrendering to the highly detailed textures, timbre and weightlessness of its alchemical sound-blending makes for a listening experience infinite with possibilities.