Innervisions Germany Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Innervisions bosses Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer return as Ame, and present their first full length entitled Dream House - described as a home listening styled journey. The German duo spent three years working on the LP and it features collaborations with legends of German electronic music such as Roedelius and Gudrun Gut, as well as Bolivian singer David Lemaitre and Jens Kuross - who was a member of Wiedemann's other venture The Howling, with Ry Cuming. Highlights include their dramatic collaboration with Matthew Herbert "The Line", the upbeat disco number "Blind Eye" (featuring Planningtorock), the chill balearica of "Positivland" and the evocative/melodic dreamscape of "No War".

Review: Along with label mate Henrik Schwarz, deep house/techno stalwarts Ame were one of the first to realize the full potential of Ableton Live as a performance tool. For the best part of a decade, they've been using the software to perform bespoke live shows featuring "on the fly" reworks of their productions and remixes. Those who've witnessed their live shows will attest to their undoubted quality. Here, they recreate those performances on Live, a seamless mix CD featuring live recordings mined from their extensive vaults. As a "best of", it's unsurpassed, featuring a mix of anthemic classics ("Rej", "Envision", "DPOMB", "Where We're At" etc), recycled accapellas and tweaked remixes - many in stunning new revised form.

Review: Having previously impressed with the robust On Acid on Absurd/Acid Test, and more thoughtful Hinterland on Ghostly International, Recondite transfers to Innervisions for this third full-length excursion. The German producer seems to be in a particularly introspective mood on Iffy, delivering tracks that variously explore deep, spacious techno (see "Baro"), evocative deep house and bittersweet electronica. For all the sparse rhythms and clandestine atmospherics, there's plenty of picturesque moments, from the unfurling beauty of "Konter" and glacial downtempo shuffle of "Steady", to the tear-jerking shimmer of "Jim Jams" and gorgeous "Levo". As a result, it's probably his strongest set to date.