Of all things, furniture design and typography brought Theodore and Hamblin together while studying together at University. As erroneous as it might seem, these two penchants have left indelible marks on the pairs music, which shares the latters inclination towards functionality and clean, almost neutral aesthetics. On their album, The Scientific Contrast, the model comes first, namely, that of late nineties IDM, the sort diluted in homeopathic doses on labels such as Morr and City Centre Offices until it seemed to all but vanish without a trace. In the same manner as water remembers molecules no matter how diluted, though, this German duo recall the vague impressions left by that genre, but venture a tad further and strip it of its many distractions and anomalies, leaving a compact, tightly knit whole which appeals for its clarity and easy sense of flow.
A simple two-tone melodic fragment animates a piece like ‘Mndel’. The forensically precise placement, coupled with the fact that little is overly accented and no single element commands attention, means that each work is indeterminate enough such that it can be mixed with or carry on after any other slightly different form without missing a step. The drawn-out sensuous groove of ‘Balmpe’ therefore nestles amiably alongside the beatless air of ‘Pewn’, which hangs heavy with vinyl crackle and drifting harmonies. In other places, the album dwells within cavernous digital spaces, the dark sub-bass pulses of dub, and the muffled melodies and obediently dancing glitches of homemade electronica. The duo approach these elements with engaging rigor and aptitude, yet for all that, the clear-cut manner of their commutability betrays the fact that the stakes inherent in these elements were peeled away some time ago. Hence, though the albums deals in nostalgia, it’s one divested of fantasy and only exudes an artificial warmth which is evenly spread over the entirety of this albums transparent surface.
Max Schaefer
