Sailing Off The Grid
Croatian producer Petar Dundov returns with his third long player for Belgian label Music Man. It was recorded in Neumatik studio in Zagreb where he also works as an engineer and expands on the theme of harmonious techno that was deftly shown in 2008’s Escapements and Ideas From The Pond from last year.
Dundov has evidently looked back on the techniques and sound structures employed by engineers throughout electronic music’s history and has produced a masterclass in synth laden genres starting with the beautiful ambient Enter The Vortex, he then ventures into Italo-disco territory with the relentless cosmic funk of Yesterday Is Tomorrow – which the likes of Andrew Weatherall would lap up in his sets – before heading back to the eighties with the retro flavours of Spheres and White Spring sounding more like Vangelis than Van Buuren. The release then shifts down the gears through the deep house of Sailing Off The Grid and chilled vibes of Sur La Mer Avec Mon Ami to finish with another beatless offering – Cradle.
The one complaint is the sheer length of the tunes, the album lasts around an hour and a quarter but this only comprises eight tracks, each of these clocking up at between seven to a whopping 14 minutes in length. Even though this release is intended for home listening emersion, some compromise between duration and variety could have been made. An absorbing listen in parts, may be too lacklustre for some.
ANDREW NELSON
